Maple and Monarchs in Color

There’s color in the leaves and Monarch butterflies are on the move. Maples are currently the main source of the local sylvan color, but we still have a way to go before the full blast of fall hues thrust itself upon us.

The peak in Monarch butterfly migration in our area is around the first week in October. It’s never a heavy migration in our area due our geography. It’s the mountains and the coast that see the largest numbers of butterflies passing through. The ocean on the coast and the mountains themselves to our west create the physical barriers which concentrate the butterflies in those areas. Here, there very well may be comparable numbers passing through, but they’re on a broad front and not easily seen or counted.

Here’s some photos of each, starting with the maples.