Butterflies and Sunsets

On Tuesday we met up at Pismo Beach State Park for an afternoon photo shoot. I was so excited to have time to actually make a meetup with my photo group this month. Most people were getting ready for Thanksgiving and could not make it. I was so glad I did.

Pismo Beach is one of the locations on the west coast that Monarch butterflies migrate to for the winter. Did you even know butterflies migrate? I did not until I moved here. It is a sight that even pictures cannot fully capture. In a grove of Eucalyptus trees near the beach, thousands of butterflies make their home for the winter. You look up in the trees and at first you see brownish leaves all over the trees. A leave begins to move, then fly away and you realize those are all butterflies.



In the mornings, the butterflies are all over in the air and on the ground. We got there in the late afternoon so they were beginning to slow down and cluster back in the trees.



I did find one alone and with its wings spread.



After an hour the light was too low for any more pictures of the butterflies so we walked to the beach. It is amazing to me that every year I am still surprised by how early the sun goes down this time of year. Even though it was beginning to cool off and get dark, the kids were having so much fun.



The clouds were making beautiful swirls of color for us to enjoy.



As we left I looked back and saw the silhouette of the trees against the setting sun and had to snap one last picture.



Days like this make me wonder how I could ever live anyplace else.

See the whole set here.