Wow, it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything (anywhere). Been too busy finishing out the year and it's just been too damn cold! Last Sunday I woke up to -25F. The air was so cold, it burned!
Temps finally moderated so I got out for a lunchtime walk around town. These are all with the CV Nokton 50/1.5. And no, the truck did not run over the guy in the snow . . . he was just taking break from his work.
I was away for several days and just made it back home. Wow, did I miss pages and pages of great images! I am truly impressed with the superb quality of the images posted here - keep up the good work everyone!
This image was taken at a monarch butterfly sanctuary along the California Central Coast, where thousands and thousands of monarch butterflies call it home away from the bitterly cold temperature to the north. Butterflies east of the Rockies migrate to Mexico and the ones west of the Rockies migrate to California.
Even here in sunny California they need protection from overnight temperature. As the temperature drops when the sun goes down, the first few land and hang on to eucalyptus leaves and the ones that came later just land on the top of the first and hang on to their migratory buddies, forming clusters of hundreds of butterflies in a cluster. The clusters are bigger in the morning as they would like to stay protected from the weather but less colorful as most of them close their wings and they normally stay still. In the afternoon in the warming sun, the butterflies start to flutter and to fly around in search of food and the colors pick up dramatically.
The number of migrating butterflies in Mexico is staggering but it was more difficult to photograph them. So, it was more the case of you have to see it to appreciate that natural wonder. There are definitely less butterflies here in California but they seem easier to photograph.
