Monarch...

...migration?  They don't usually leave until the end of September or beginning of October, but when I stopped by the park this morning there were swarms of them on the milkweed! I put one image in the extras that shows 5 of them together; I've never seen so many of them all in one small area.  I DID read that they will sometimes leave earlier if it's getting cooler, & although I hate to say it, the signs of fall are creeping in. Last night it was starting to get dark and it was barely past 8!
Tom had his doctors' appointment today, and the blood counts are still holding steady, so he'll start the next round of chemo on Monday.  We had to take Mae with us, as Jennie's classes started today and Mae's don't start until next week. We had a really long wait for Tom to get his blood drawn so it was hard to keep her occupied after the first 25 minutes.  I finally, like any self-respecting grandma, resorted to bribery, taking her to the little coffee shop area and letting her pick out a "treat"--much better there, as we could look out the windows and watch the cars and the birds. She was having a lovely time in the office too, as Hannah (one of the nurses) came in to talk to Tom, & Mae took to her right away. But then the Dr. came in--the Dr. has two little ones at home--so he crouched down to talk to her, at which time she promptly  morphed into "shy" mode, climbing onto my lap with her face buried in my shirt & refusing to speak.  He started laughing & asked if she was 3 or 4, since that's exactly how his 4 year old acts with strangers. Spot on!    :))