We don't have milkweed in Newfoundland but after seeing these pictures I wish we did!! So beautiful.

Wonderful photos. I was thinking they would be great in a frame, one after another, each matted, showing the progression.

Lovely pictures....thank you.

Wonderful series. You caught them at so many stages. I love milkweeds all summer. I am glad we have them here.

Awesome pictures!

Love the pics!

Neat!! I love the way the silk sparkles in the sun. Numbers 5 and 8 are my favorites.

Back before digital cameras, I once shot a whole roll of 35mm film trying to capture a single milkweed seed in flight. And I did--one out of the 24 shots was in perfect focus. :-)

Casey, if you have no milkweed, does that mean you have no monarch butterflies? Perhaps they eat other things, but here the caterpillars hang out a lot on the milkweed, probably where they were born.

Beautiful! The photography was pretty spectacular also!

Oooooh! SO Beautiful! Thanks for capturing those moments and sharing them with us.

I was just noticing that our burning bushes are the exact color of a male Cardinal. Ain't nature grand? (Not so sure I'll still feel that way after the predicted 50 MPH winds hit us.)

Thank you all for the wonderful comments. I know it is silly in once sense to enjoy such a moment, but I really did...and was so blessed to capture some of it.

Casey, you and I are so close geographically, but not according to the gardening regions..."Appalachian Region". I would be more than happy to send you some seeds for you to try....These are NOT our naturalized milkweed seeds, they are the orange variety.
I did just recently get some seeds of the more naturalized variety of milkweed and have it planted. This plant is more apt/natural for out climates. Unfortunately many areas have killed it off because of it's growth patterns around railways in particular. This is probably the reason why we, in the maritimes, are seeing less and less monarchs visit us.
Anyway...sorry to have gone on...long story short...Casey, would you like some of these seeds? They may or may not grow in your area. Next year I will have the naturalized seeds of the plant that the monarchs come to visit :)

Enjoyed your pics.

Love your pictures,you should have them made into cards, or send to birds and bloom .TFS
Kathi

Beautiful picture story.

Linda

I would love some seeds, thanks!

You're right Susan, we don't get Monarchs per se. I have seen one here and there have been several sightings of the butterflies but they fly here from the mainland (Newfoundland is an island). We don't have the caterpillars because we don't have milkweed plants.

Casey....just sent you an email :) Once I get your address will put some in the mail :):)

Just wanted to thank you all again for the lovely comments.
Kathi...I do sometimes print my photos into cards and give them as gifts, they have also been published locally by a news group. I really enjoy it when I am able to capture "a moment"
Nicole....I can fully understand how many takes it took to get that one shot! I sat for quite some time to get/take these and some others. I don't know how photographers made it back it the day of film! Can't imagine the costs involved...but am humbled by the talent.
Thanks again everyone....so glad you enjoyed the photos, I was so psyched to get them :)

Beautiful photos!

I'm curious what zone you're in Casey?
We have the orange Milkweed,or sometimes called Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa, here in Minnesota (zone 4).

Ron

It's anything but "silly!" If only more people appreciated nature, maybe our environment would not be in such bad shape. Thanks for taking time to share those wonderful pictures.

What an eye you have for beauty! Really enjoyed the pics. Thanks!

Just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful photos!I loved looking at them.

Wow, the only thing I've known about milkweed is that it's a noxious, poisonous weed to the animals and farmers do their best to kill it.
Hardy and tough to kill, it's often growing in the field along with the corn and grain.

I honestly don't know anyone who wants it or covets it, so congratulations, for trying to preserve it, and save our monarchs.

beautiful shots!

What GORGEOUS photos! Thanks for posting them! And it's kind weird to me that your milkweed is seeding and mine (near Houston) is still blooming like crazy. Isn't nature amazing?

Beautiful macro shots! Great depth of field.

The caterpillar of the Monark feeds exclusively on milkweed and this is the only plant that the Monark lays eggs on. These butterflies over winter deep into Mexico. In spring, the first wave migrates about 1/3 of the way to Canada and lays eggs. After this first batch matures, they continue north to lay another round of eggs. The monarks we see in the nothern tier of states and Canada were hatched that year. Their parents who wintered in Mexico expire before getting this far north.

Knowing this, I would expect that milkweed would be critical to attracting a sizeable population of monarks. Otherwise, the only monarks one would see would be those that were passing through.

Thanks again everyone for your very kind comments about the photos and thanks Jemdandy for the monarch explanation.

Here is NB we are a zone 5b. According the the Vesey & HGTV Canada growing zones site, Casey is about the same 5b-6, which I found surprising. So I am sure if she gets the seeds started the plant should do fine.

We do have a naturalized milkweed that grows, strangely enough, along a railway tracks. Unfortunately the rail company regularly cuts the vegetation along the tracks for safety reasons so it is more difficult to get the seeds unless you know someone with the plant. I just found someone this summer on a garden tour and she gave me a plant and seeds so I should have naturalized seeds next year I hope.

These seeds are from a cultivated plant, orange butterfly/milk weed (Asclepias tuberosa). I have been able to keep it growing for a fews years now.
Our Monarch population in Canada has dropped in recent years so I am trying to plant things that will draw them back. Without crucial plants like the milkweed, we will loose them completely.

Again thanks for the lovely and encouraging comments about the photos...they are much appreciated.