return of the monarchs

It's that time again.

As described in my post on the monarch butterfly last year, there's such a remarkably clear connection between the colors and bittersweet themes of autumn and the pumpkin-colored stained glass cloak of these creatures:

"Monarchs arrive in Mexico at about the same time each year, just in time for the annual Dia de los Muertos. Let's see: millions of orange-and-black creatures that just happen to "die" and be reborn show up as an entire nation begins to celebrate its strangest and most tragicomic festival, to both honor the dead and party like crazy.

"Coincidence? I don't think so. This phenom alone is enough to convince me there's a lot going on that we don't understand."