I spent three-plus hours on the tractor, which explains my hip and back discomfort (being restrained about it) and among the beauties seen while mowing were migrating monarch butterflies (orange and gold when seen flying on such a day) and gayfeather--a Liatris species that puts up dense spikes of intensely magenta flowers in the fall. Put those to together and you get this:
The intense magenta with intensely orange-and-gold butterflies flitting round it is...stunning. However, with the wind blowing the stems back and forth, the butterflies fluttering trying to keep their balance on the bobbing stems, and the vibration of the tractor I was sitting on, image quality isn't perfect.
Also in bloom were goldenrod (just past peak), Maximilian sunflower, pitcher sage (sky blue, and well past peak but a few still showing) and a white aster (heath aster--tiny snow-white flowers in a mass, usually tucked up next to Maximilian sunflowers.)
All of these have increased with our management, and good for multiple classes of wildlife.