The milkweed is abundantly blooming in the upper meadow so it's no surprise that the spangled frittilaries have returned. Frittilaries are not my favorite butterflies--I prefer the understated elegance of the zebra swallowtail--but I just love to say the name. "Spangled frittilaries" sounds like sequins falling from the sky, and they look that way too. They flutter above the milkweed blossoms and get so drunk on the nectar that I could walk right up to them and snap their picture if I needed any more frittilary pictures. When the butterfly weed is blooming, I've seen as many as six frittilaries attacking one cluster of flowers at the same time. Milkweed is a weed--it's right there in the name--but as long as it earns its keep by attracting butterflies, you won't see me pulling it up.
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