Alongside Michigan Avenue is the Millennium Monument entrance to Millennium Park.
Millennium Monument
Walking further along Michigan Avenue is the Crown Fountain.
Crown Fountain
Go behind the hedgerow, and the wildflowers of Lurie Garden grow.
Lurie Garden
There’s a warning sign for the territorial Red-winged Blackbird keeping watch over his nest.
Redwinged blackbird on compass plant
The tips of the Purple Coneflower are aglow.
Red Admiral on Purple Coneflower
And the bees were buzzing while the orchestra practiced Beethoven in the background.
White Coneflower and bee
Globe Thistle
Like the Globe Thistle, Rattlesnake Master has globe-shaped flowers. The Black Spider Wasp provides a dramatic contrast, and when they turn the right way, their wings glow blue.
Black Spider Wasp on Rattlesnake Master
The Black Spider Wasp shares a trait with the Great Golden Digger Wasp—besides great names. They dig a hole in the ground, then look for prey. On finding a spider, katydid, grasshopper or other critter, they inflict a paralyzing, but not lethal sting, and drag the victim back to the hole. After putting the prey in the hole, they lay an egg on the victim who will will still be alive to provide nutrition when the egg hatches.
Golden Digger Wasp
After that uplifting story, how about gentle images of a Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed. The Monarch’s scientific name—Danaus plexippus—means “sleepy transformation.”
Monarch butterfly on milkweed
Or on a coneflower.
Monarch on purple coneflower
