The milkweed is blooming here at the old homestead. What a wonderful fragrance. I never realized.

To me, milkweed always showed up on our fall field walks to school. Nothing to write home about — old dried up pods with silky strands, seeds and white goo. Interesting shapes though.

During a recent visit from one of my Pennsylvania sisters and my niece, I asked them to come out back to smell the milkweed. They gave me “the look.” They had never realized the smell either. Imagine, all the years, a smell we'd missed. I explained that the secret to a fine milkweed crop is neglect!

Well, the butterflies and bees don't neglect! They are busy. We have an abundant supply this year, and the word is out. I saw a monarch (fewer this year it seems) and a couple other critters, one of which is this week's photo.

Everybody photographs butterflies, so why not me. I grabbed my wonderful Frank Johnson macro lens and got lost in the fragrance and flutters. Admittedly, my over the top fun with the camera got me too close — the real flyer is not as big as it appears above. It’s more the size of a standard adult monarch, but I don't know what it is. Tony Heyl (A Silver Lining) could tell me. He and his dad were very well informed about flying objects. Tony called me once a long time ago to tell me there were Viceroys at Ocean Point. I replied that there were Pall Malls on Barters Island.

Oh well.

Macro photographer or not, there is lots of activity around the milkweed. It’s quite fascinating to stand in a patch of it and just watch the traffic. Have your EpiPen though, if bug bite reactions are a concern.