Danish summer is a really magical experience. It is not too hot but not too cold. When it is sunny, it is really lovely. The weather can turn on a dime but when it is nice, it is really nice.

Over the last several weeks, I took lunch outside as much as possible. Sitting in the sun and enjoying the scenery. One of the best parts of this was watching the butterflies- mostly pierids (I assume Pieris napi or Pieris rapae). I got close enough to snap the below picture but never quite close enough to confidently ID them. Butterflies in Denmark are called summerbirds (sommerfulg). Which, if you think about it, makes a bit more sense than the word “butterfly”

Watching these insects fly around in the Danish sun got me thinking about the rest of the year here- namely how cold the winters are. They overwinter in their chrysalis. So as caterpillars during the short summer, they eat enough to grow, metamorphose, and survive until the next summer! Different species of butterflies overwinter in different life stages and have varying levels of survival. But the fact that they can survive is really impressive to me. In large part because summer is already ending here.

This week’s walks in the botanical garden reveal the beginnings of fall colors. The days are notably shorter than a few weeks ago. So I expect I am seeing the end of the flight of the summerbirds and the beginning of the season of hygge.