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In my brief search for monarchs yesterday,  I only saw two butterflies: a painted lady and a fiery skipper. They kept their distance, about two feet from each other, while working over some flowers. I expect October to be the big butterfly month along the Carmel coast, but that hasn’t been the case for me this year. I spotted a monarch on two separate days, but was unable to record the event with a camera; otherwise the October roll call was a red admiral,a fiery skipper, a cabbage white and a painted lady. No swallowtails. Oh, and there were millions of oak moths. Earlier in the year there were numerous buckeyes.

It’s obvious that I enjoy the challenge of capturing butterflies on film.  Also, I keep watch on honeybees. Combined, these insects are an important part of the ecosystem that appears to be dwindling here, hence, my personal fervor in photographing them in a two square-mile corner of the world. The sun seems hotter than normal. No rain and the ocean moisture at night is less than in past years. Or, maybe I’m simply getting older and less tolerant of the heat. Or, I’m reading too much about climate change, watching too many reports about hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. Capturing a butterfly on film is a moment of calmness. Right?