Thank you for liking them ❤️

Definitely shows it's not the gear but the user that gets the photos.

If you ever want to upgrade on the cheap I'd recommend looking on eBay or somewhere like that for an old DSLR and lens. Something like a Nikon D80 or D90 can be had for very little these days.

Well, you certainly know how to get the best out of that camera. Good work!

You are thinking of a completely different plant called milkweed. The monarch butterflies lay their eggs on it and the caterpillars eat it as their exclusive diet, and become poisonous for it. Its not thorny at all but a broad leafed plant that flowers in the spring. Monarch butterflies can eat nectar from many kinds of flowers. It is a native plant and I have plenty of it growing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias.

Interestingly both these plants have very similar methods of spreading their seeds, seeds attached to silky strands that float away on the wind.