Butterflies

 Hi everyone. Happy Thursday. 

First thing I want to mention is I spelled barred owl wrong yesterday.   It’s not bard, which was google’s suggestion.   I guess google is more of a Shakespeare fan more than a bird fan  Smile.

Today I have a travel post and a bit of art for you.

On our trip to California I was able to check a few things off my travel bucket or wish list. I've wanted to visit the La Brea Tar Pits in LA (check), to visit Palm Springs (check),  to drive the part of the California coast that I hadn't done  (the stretch between LA and San Francisco) (check),  and see what the Monterey Bay Aquarium was all about. (check)

Today's post is about something  else on my bucket list I've wanted to see and only learned that I could do in California shortly before we left. 

Along the coast of California there are a few spots where  monarch butterflies overwinter. I have always wanted to see that many monarch's in trees. Our East Coast Monarchs fly to an area outside of Mexico City, but on the west coast, many fly to some of the coastal areas where it stays relatively warm over the winter. 

Pismo Beach is one of those places, and we were driving right through there as we headed up route 1 towards the Monterey Peninsula. The butterfly grove wasn't even more than a few minutes out of our way either, and a freebie too.

Although most butterflies were just hanging out in some eucalyptus trees, it was pretty amazing. 

Those in the shadows didn't look bright orange, but in the sunlight they did.

I was a great sight to see. I had worried with all the recent fires in California that  there may not be many, but according to the data they posted, right now this is a banner year for them at Pismo Beach.

I was  inspired by the  butterflies so I made this quick page for Art Journal Journey and Valerie's When One Door Opens Another One Closes challenge. The "doors" on a butterfly house are nothing  more than slits, but they are still doorways for the butterflies.

As we've had some wintry weather lately, it was fun to make a page that reminded me of spring and summer. 

The background is watercolor on watercolor paper. I stamped the butterflies and a quote, drew and fussy cut the butterfly house, added some paper tape as well as few gemstones to create the eyes on the butterflies wings. The eye looking spots help butterflies with them to ward off predators. Monarchs don't need those eye spots because they are poisonous, which their bright orange and black colors advertise to those who might want to eat them.

I hope you are having a great Thursday. Thanks for visiting.