Bountiful beauty

The pond near the Light My Fire cache

Today I was reminded why I not just like but LOVE geocaching. It opens your eyes to the beautiful blessings that surround you. It introduces you to things you might not otherwise see or even notice.

Take yesterday and today for example.

Yesterday I found Light My Fire in Belle Plaine, Minn. When I got there, I was struck by the picturesque scene: the yellow flowers and the tall grass gracing above a calm, smooth pond. I swore to myself to return with my camera in tow to capture the scene.

Happy pollinators

Today, after work I made the trek back to the area and low and behold, bees are busy flitting to and fro among the flowers. What delicate and dedicated pollinators! I found myself trying to zoom in and capture nature's gardeners in action.

Upon finishing, I found myself heading back down the road to capture another beautiful scene. As I turned onto Old Highway 169 Boulevard, a row of bright, vibrant flowers lined the right side of the road. Tall, large sunflowers extended above the eye-popping flora. What beauty!

Beautiful Monarch butterfly

As I exited my car to take some more pictures, my breath was taken away. It was a sight I was used to seeing as a child, but has become more and more scarce over the years. MONARCH BUTTERFLIES! Yes, real and true Monarch butterflies, not the impersonator viceroy butterflies you sometimes see. While they look similar, the Monarch butterfly does not have a black line crossing the postmedian hindwing. That, my friends, is a viceroy.

Oh, but there were Monarch butterflies galore, flitting and flapping from flower to flower, soaring in the wind. I let my gaze travel down the flowers and saw dozens of Monarch butterflies. Capturing them in flight was very tricky, and they did not rest on a flower for very long, but I managed to capture some real beauties.

"How's it going George? Great nectar over here Bud!"

Perhaps my next geocache will be in this area, to hopefully bring more people out to eye the wonderful beauty nature provides for us. And to think, if it was not for the geocache less than a mile away, I would never have known about this beautiful area. That, my dear readers, is why I love geocaching. It will bring you to places unknown, show you sights you may never have discovered, even in your own community, and brings a touch of beauty to an otherwise dreary day.

Life is too short not to notice the wonderful bounties and beauty around you. Open your eyes, live, love and geocache!

The Monarch's eye-popping, beautiful home