It’s sad when you know something that was once beautiful is in danger of going away. I’m talking about the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens in Sebastopol, California. Louise Hallberg’s garden officially became a non-profit organization in 1997. I say officially because she has lived in the same house on the property since a child in the 1920s.

Today, at 97, Louise still tends the gardens with help from a few friends. The grounds do need work and tender loving care. However, they are still a haven for butterflies and insects. The Meetup group that arranged this outing billed it as a chance to pull out the macro lens. I don’t have one, but I shot with my 55 – 300 lens some of the time and my 18 – 55 mm the rest of the time. We didn’t see too many butterflies, but there were birds and flowers to compensate. I do wish the butterflies would stay still for just a moment! We did have one that seemed to want to show off, and I was able to get some great shots of him (or her!).

I hope someone will come along and take over the property. It would make a great historical park. While we were there, I did meet Hallberg, who had a helper with her. She is frail and just got out of the hospital recovering from a fall. If you’d like to help, visit their website at http://www.hallbergbutterflygardens.org/. It would be great to keep Hallberg’s vision and this garden alive. This will be another 2-part post. There’s so much to show you!