Yesterday, I spotted my first Monarch Butterfly of the season! Today, I reported it to Journey North. Journey North is a website for Citizen Scientists, like myself, to report observations in nature that help scientists study naturally occurring phenomena. Those phenomena related to Monarch Butterflies are: The first Monarch (adult) sighting of the season Any…
Current Day & Lessons From being a Volunteer Today, I am reposting a blog I wrote two years ago after something happened to me as a long-time volunteer. Luckily, the garden and monarch habitat persists, but I have moved on. In hindsight, despite the difficulty I had leaving this group of students who attended an…
It’s already 8:30 p.m. and I am just sitting down. I’ve had a busy day starting with a coffee date with a friend, followed by going work, followed by sitting in our high school stadium for a track meet. I have not had time to write or even think about what I would write today….
For being a long time gardener, I am not the best at starting plants from seeds. Last year was probably my most successful year, and sadly, I attribute that to my cats dying the year before. The cats, interested in the smell of dirt, and subsequent germinating seedlings, pulled the new plants out before they…
It is a little early to start thinking about the arrival of my favorite butterfly, but I read that the Monarchs have started to leave their overwintering site in Central Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains. If you have a chance and want to listen to a scientist who has devoted her whole life to this incredible…
An Ode to Milkweed Milkweed growing oh so strong, welcoming Monarchs with your fragrant song! Leaves so tasty, green and bright, filling caterpillars with certain delight! Life will grow on leaf and stem, then flutter off to begin again. Milkweed, milkweed growing strong, thank you for bringing Monarchs along! Haiku Niagara Falls Spewing,…
Yesterday, my husband found a Monarch butterfly flailing around on the rain soaked cement of our driveway. It was a cool, wet morning with a temperature in the mid-50’s. After several failed attempts by him to capture the monarch, I was able to gently snatch it up and bring it inside to the container in…
It is the height of the monarch migration season. By all reports, it has been a great year to be involved in the conservation of this species. Summer numbers are up and my own experience supports that observation. As school restarts, it is a busy time for me as a non-formal educator. In the last…
“I raised 300.” (unnamed, 2018) “I belong to a Facebook group in Wisconsin that has raised and released over 16,000 Monarchs this season.” (unnamed, 2018) “I hope to reach 1,000 next year.” (unnamed, 2018) What is going on? These are statements of citizens in the U.S. and Canada who have raised monarch butterflies this summer…