Because I had today off from work I went to the State Fair of Texas like i do every year. As usual I eventually found my way to Texas Discovery Gardens in the SW part of Fair Park, both because they're beautiful and a much needed break from the noise and crowds, but also because the State Fair coincides with the annual monarch butterfly migration to Mexico, and the Maximilian sunflower and frostweed in the butterfly garden are typically swarming with monarchs.

But not this time. Although thankfully there were a fair number of bees visiting the flowers there wasn't a single monarch, only one Queen (Danaus gilippus). I don't know if the migration is just running early or late, or if hurricanes Beryl, Francine, and Helene somehow disrupted the monarchs' life cycle but I hope this was just a one-time aberration.