Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Butterfly on a Sunflower; A Popular Choice of the English Subjects Placing Tributes to Queen Elizabeth
Butterfly on a Sunflower
Taking a walk in a local nature center on a hot day. It was pleasant walking along the dirt paths in the cool shade of the trees on another 90-degree day. Each step brought something else to observe. The birds were out in numbers, chirping and flitting from tree to tree. The leaves were starting to cover the walkway, adding crunch to our footsteps. The water from the creek was the lowest it has ever been; the hot summer and lack of rain was condensing its flow. There were still some flowers blooming which added color to the scene.
Then we saw them – Monarch Butterflies flitting from flower to flower. They loved the sunflowers and we loved watching them. They like to winter in warmer places like Mexico and California but I wonder if that will change as our temperature rises. Maybe they’ll end up staying in my backyard. Meanwhile, they are appreciated whenever they appear and I wish them a safe trip to warmer climes.
https://monarchconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MBF-Fun-Facts-Feb-21.FINAL_.pdf
©2022 Ferida Wolff for SeniorWomen.com
Editor's Note:
Mourners leave sunflowers outside Windsor Castle in tribute to the queen.
WINDSOR, England — Thousands of people paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle on Saturday, placing bouquets of flowers, many of them sunflowers, at the gates to the castle where the queen had spent much of her time.
Natalie Prince, a Windsor florist, said she had sold 8,000 sunflowers by Saturday afternoon.
“She was a ray of sunshine to so many people,” said Ms. Prince, 35. “She was our sort of ray of hope.”
"The common sunflower is valuable from an economic as well as from an ornamental point of view. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye, and the seeds contain oil and are used for food. The sweet yellow oil obtained by compression of the seeds is considered equal to olive or almond oil for table use. Sunflower oil cake is used for stock and poultry feeding. The oil is also used in soap and paints and as a lubricant. The seeds may be eaten dried, roasted, or ground into nut butter and are common in birdseed mixes. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica"