Migrating Monarchs And Winter Texans

They’re probably all in Mexico by now. I saw my first monarch butterfly of the fall here in the hill country during the first few days in October, and my last about a week ago.

The migration of monarch butterflies begins in the upper regions of North America in early September, as the weather starts to cool. Monarch butterflies can’t live in the cold weather and head south before winter sets in. Like migrating birds, the monarchs come down certain flyways on their long journey. Their primary destination is the mountainous area just west of Mexico City, Mexico, although some monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains do migrate to certain areas of southern California.

It is estimated that nearly 100 million monarchs take part in the fall migration. East of the Rockies, the various flyways eventually converge into a narrower configuration, which funnel into one or two flyways over Texas. The major flyway is over central Texas and the Texas Hill Country. As a result, hill country residents, primarily during the month of October, are blessed with seeing more than their fair share of monarchs.

Once the butterflies reach Mexico, they all head to a relatively small area in the volcanic mountains just west of Mexico’s capital of Mexico City, where at the elevation of 10,000 feet, they spend the winter in oyamel fir trees. They are welcomed every year by local residents, and by tourists, who climb mountain trails to see the millions upon millions of monarchs hanging on the trees.

The monarch migration through the hill country this year, as always, was spectacular. They were everywhere, and the photo opportunities were endless. But now, they’re gone.

Migrating monarch butterflies, are just like the human “snowbirds,” or as we call them in Texas, “Winter Texans,” who come south to escape the cold weather up north every year. But, while the monarch butterflies come into Texas with numbers over 100 million, but then keep passing through, we really don’t want that many human winter visitors to stay down here. It’s not that we don’t appreciate them, because we surely do, but 100 million? That’s just a bit much.

The Texas Hill Country is a wonderful place to stay or visit during the winter, but, you folks from the north, please keep at least a couple thousand people or so back up there. Somebody has to run "your" country up north during the winter months, don't they?

Fall Colors In The Texas Hill Country

Each and every fall it seems, there are quite a few people up in the northern states who get unbelievably giddy when the foliage on trees begins turning different colors. There are news broadcasts, and hundreds of published reports and maps detailing when and where the fall color is “peak” or “past peak.” Some bus companies charge in excess of a thousand dollars for fall foliage tours lasting more than a week.

I grew up in the American Midwest, and, I agree that the fall colors can be spectacular. But I cannot quite fathom why someone would spend a thousand bucks to ride around in a bus to see dying, albeit, colorful leaves, when, in most cases, they can see the same thing, year after year, by looking out their own kitchen window.

Having said that, my real problem with the colorful fall foliage in the northern states is what it portends. It means that just after you put the leaf rake back in the garage, you’ll be picking up a snow shovel. Colorful leaves means cold weather is on the way. Cold weather brings snow and ice, and to me, none of that is pleasant. So, in a reaction similar to one of “Pavlov‘s Dogs,” when I see leaves that are not green, I start “salivating” for a warmer climate.

To be fair, the Texas Hill Country has a similar hype in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming, and the hills are alive with color. Just like up north, there are bus tours. And, I’m quite sure, that there are hill country citizens with Texas Blue Bonnets blooming just outside their front door who scramble up the steps of a tour bus every year to see even more Blue Bonnets a few miles down the road.

Fall in the Texas Hill Country has colors of its own. While the foliage doesn’t change color to the same extent up north, because of fewer deciduous trees, there are colorful flowers and berries which brighten the season. The Mexican Bush Sage provides a wonderful display of purple and white flowers. The Texas Lantana, with its bright orange and yellow flowers, is ever-present on these nice warm November days. The American Beautyberry, with its bright purple fruit, is found in abundance along with brightly colored berries of the holly species. Maximillian sunflowers, and so many more colorful blooms, add to the hill country's “fall colors.”

While the observance of these magnificent colors is an annual rite of fall in the hill country, and may be comparable in some way to what is going on up north this time of year, there is one big and very important difference. These fall colors are not followed by leaf raking, a lot of sub-freezing temperatures, and snow shoveling. And that, at least to me, makes all the difference in the world.