Butterfly Bonanza

With our first sun in ten days we were enjoying the warmth and a nice tailwind to boot today.  We must be crossing a major migration route for Monarch butterflies, as well as several other species.  Sadly, the highway we were riding on (TX-90) also seems to be a major migratory path for 18-wheel semi's.  And as you can guess, the large metal object is the one that wins when they both try to occupy the same space at the same time.  Nevertheless, many of the Monarchs were flying or resting as they made their way north. 

This guy has similar colors to a Monarch, but the pattern seems different.  Is it a Monarch?

The Monarchs seem to have a large range in the width of their black veins

Like brightly colored little bits of confetti, there were sadly thousands of butterflies dead along the roadside.

This little guy has a beautiful iridescent blue in its wings. 

On a brighter note, fall is arriving and the trees are changing colors.  The rains from the past month have stopped and the raging creeks are returning to their banks. 

And the fall cotton crops are harvested, waiting to be loaded onto semi's for the trip to the underwear factory.

Life is a cycle and as this year begins to wind down, we find ourselves nearing the halfway point in Texas and in the southern tier trip.