PHOTO FINISH

Flights of Fancy

Photo by Meda Kessler

We miss the butterflies. The number of monarchs — our state insect — traveling between Texas and Mexico to overwinter, and lay their eggs, continues to decline. Spotters watching them since December have reported fewer sightings. Federal officials already have suggested moving them to the endangered species list. Both bad weather and lack of breeding grounds are to blame — as well as diminishing sources of milkweed, a favorite food. (Plant some and make a butterfly happy.) The city of Southlake hosted its second Monarch Butterfly Festival last September at Bob Jones Nature Center & Preserve; fingers crossed that the event returns this fall. For now, we make do with a stop at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park to walk through the 22-foot sculpture Transition to Beauty, by Linda Lewis-Roark. The metal design, made up of butterflies of all shapes and colors — installed in 2017 — twists its way skyward. Walk around it, walk through it; the sculpture makes a gray day a little brighter and almost glows on a sunny one. Here’s hoping we’ll see some of the real thing in the spring.

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