Please take the time to read a wonderful post about the magnificent Monarch butterfly by Sharon Lovejoy...you may find her post just here! She tells us what we must do to save the butterflies! Sharon is a fantastic writer and quite honestly is someone that I truly admire, a great lover of nature and words.
The most marvelous thing, Sharon received a gift of a chrysalis tree....a twiggy tree with monarch butterfly cocoons on the branches! Can anyone imagine receiving such a gift? What a wonder!
(Also, Sharon has a giveaway on there for a teak table for your patio or deck....you need to email her and you must be in the continental United States, but if you are interested, then you can say I told you about it!)
I have written about the Monarch butterflies before. We saw hundreds of them on Arabia Mountain the first week of October in 2012 but we have never seen them in large numbers like that since then. We need to do all we can for the Monarch butterfly, we CANNOT lose this beauty, we MUST NOT.
I remember your previous post(s) about the Monarch butterflies. So many - too many! - plants and animals face extinction on this planet. To a certain extent, it is nature's way to lose some species and bring forward others, but never at the speed and for the causes we have made possible with our taking over.
ReplyDeleteRecently, wolves have been re-introduced to German forests, and already there is a debate going on about whether that is good or bad... Well, they were here long before we were, but is there room for both of us? This country is just so densely populated, and will be even more so with a constant stream of refugees coming in.
It seems very likely that Round-up is one of the main reasons for the decline of the Monarch. Round up is the name for the pesticide that is spayed on some of our crops here, and the crops are genetically modified to be resistant to the Round-up. It kills the milkweed that USED to grow on the edges of the crop fields. Milkweed is the plant that Monarchs lay their eggs on...so, I don't think this is a natural thing!
DeleteI have also heard that wolves are being brought back in certain areas. I wouldn't want you running into one on one of your walks! Although I am sure you would look very nice in a red coat with a hood! :-)
I agree! Do you read the blog Countryside Tales, if not, you should. Pop by and you will see why! xx
ReplyDeleteHey Amy! I will check it out, thank you!
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All the butterflies are too precious to lose.
ReplyDeleteI love them all!
DeleteI agree we must not lose these beautiful gifts from Nature. We call them by the familiar and affectionate name...."Wanderer" butterfly down this way.
ReplyDeleteThe Wanderer...I love it.
DeleteI want to go to Australia, I really do!
Just wander on down, Kay. :)
DeleteI was just thinking that I've seen more butterflies this spring than I have for the past few years. So delicate and beautiful, they must be protected.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you have lots of butterflies in your part of the world!
DeleteThank you for your comment!
You have reminded me of a butterfly that I saw in England last September, it fluttered into the conservatory while I was there, it had white wings, a bit frilly with gold edges, just lovely! (No idea what it was called!)
In california last autumn we saw trees that were just clumps of monarch butterflies, a splendid sight. A chrysalis tree -what an amazing idea.
ReplyDeleteWow, I would have loved to see that many Monarch butterflies, you are so lucky!
DeleteYES1 Don't you love the idea of a chrysalis tree? I would love to receive that as a gift, better than diamonds to me! :-)
I have written many posts on my Nee Zealand blog about these magnificent and wondrous creatures. I do hope that they overcome the present difficulties: I'm sure they will.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to know someone who loves the Monarch as much as I do!
DeleteThat day that I told you about, with hundreds of them fluttering over us on Arabia Mountain...it was magical!
Same here with our butterflies, bees and insects. Several scientists have completed tests on Neonicotinoids and concluded that they have an adverse effect on insects they are not supposed to target but once again its down to money and pests have to be controlled somehow. Fracking is the new big issue here however that will overshadow anything else. Looks a beautiful butterfly and I've seen them hatching out on sticks in a butterfly glasshouse.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have ever read the book, "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson but you should! I think that pests can be controlled by more natural means than by all the pesticides that are now used.
DeleteAnd you are right, everything is all down to money these days.
You are right, Kay, about the milkweed and the monarchs. In my area we are lucky to have quite a bit of milkweed still, but it is horrible to think of the devastation marching across our land, wrought by the very hands who should be its stewards. Shame on us. It's not enough to just point the finger at Monsanto. We should be putting our money where our mouth is and buying organic whenever possible. (Here endeth today's sermon.) :)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking very beautiful! I'd like to see more of that little red car peeking out on the left of the header photo....
Hey Sue!
DeleteIf you saw the post by Sharon Lovejoy, one of the things that she said was to NEVER use pesticides in your garden. We should buy organic when we can, but if we are lucky we have someone who has his or her own garden!
Oh Sue, that is not my garden! It is a garden from England, when we were there in September, I just felt like an English garden, so there it is!
Wow, I'd be thrilled to receive a chrysalis tree - what a wonderful present! Gorgeous butterflies. x
ReplyDeleteYes, Julie! I would LOVE to get a tree like that and watch the butterflies emerging from their cocoons! I hope you could see Sharon's post on this, I loved it!!
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