They Can Fly

We found ourselves at our High Meadow this morning.  Recently Amy saw a Killdeer here.  It was the first time that she had ever seen this beautiful bird.  We have made two return trips but found it neither time.  Every visit here is special in its own way.  Invasive Japanese Honeysuckle has been removed from this level field.  On my seventy-third birthday I was provided with a machine that had a seat and a bucket for a weekend.  Acres of level ground saw this highly invasive plant removed.  To keep it gone I now mow huge fields.  It is time to stop the mowing this year since the Milkweed is in flower.   We recently came upon two Monarch butterflies joined together to transfer the seed packet that will yield eggs.  These leaves will be home to the next generation of caterpillars then butterflies.  So far the early mowings have kept the Honeysuckle absent from this ground.

We have seen this turkey and her four young many times.  Yesterday they were taking dust baths under October Sky Asters planted right next to the corner of the house.  They have been spending a great deal of time rather close to the house.  Our concern for their safety remains active since the poults seemed too small to fly.  Turkeys spent the nights in trees where they are safe from predators.  For a period following hatching, both the young and their mother sleep on the ground.  We need worry no more.  Mom and her young were in the taller weeds in the center of the field when we first saw them.  Their reaction to our presence was to head toward the trees.  Our movement sent the group back into the taller weeds.  Soon the young appeared in the shorter weeds where they took to the air.  They found safety in the Pine trees.  Mother also flew but remained in the field possibly intending to keep our focus on her.

At my recent doctor's visit, I was told that most of the men born in 1944 are now dead.  I am still here two years after that dividing line.  This land and its peaceful connection to nature has been ours for the past twenty-eight years.  Age now limits my ability to do all of the physical work necessary to preserve this land but I absolutely cannot see myself living in a senior care facility.  How could anyone leave this wonderful life so close to nature?
 

Milkweed Flowers

June drawing to a close has always been a special time of year.  Thirty-four times it marked the change from working in the classroom to ten weeks of vacation or a summer job.  For many, Milkweed is little more than a roadside weed.  Its unique connection to the Monarch butterfly makes it an incredibly important native plant.  Our retirement land was purchased more than one quarter of a century ago and its wildly rural nature placed us in close contact with both the butterfly and its food source.  Memory of its powerful scent could not go unnoticed.

The difference in the color of the open flowers remains an unanswered question.  Many are close to white colored while others show a rose pink.  One possible explanation could be the age of the open flower but we see both colors on plants with both open flowers and unopened buds.  Perhaps this issue is similar to the variation in human eye or hair color.  It just happens.

Several years ago we started squash seeds indoors well ahead of the last frost date.  When these plants were moved outside there was a long period when no blossoms were pollinated.  The newly opened flowers on the milkweed were a powerful magnet drawing in all of the bees.  Our squash simply had to wait until these flowers were finished.  Early yesterday morning when I first saw open flowers, a perfect Fritillary butterfly was finding food there.  When I returned in the afternoon with a camera the bees had taken possession of these flowers.  The only butterflies seen then were being chased away by selfish bees.

It comes as no surprise to those people that know us that we meddle in the natural order.  As Fall approaches we see huge numbers of Milkweed plants with no leaves as they die down.  This is at the exact time when the caterpillars need a food source.  These developing creatures eat only Milkweed leaves and they are scarce at that time.  Milkweed is an amazing plant.  When it has a visit from a lawn mower, it simply regrows.  We mow two large fields intending to end mowing in July so that the new growth will have young leaves for the caterpillars.  This sounds like a good plan but some of the plants that we cut down are feeding new caterpillars.  We do have large areas that never see the mower so we are not killing all of them.  This working with nature is never easy.

Migration Food

Monarch butterflies and Milkweed plants have played an important role in our retirement lives focused on nature.  We allow the plants to grow mixed in with garden plants despite their deep extensive roots because food for the caterpillars is deemed to be an absolute necessity.  Many of the plants carry no leaves at this time of year and we interfere by mowing large areas of plants.  After July first we no longer mow and those plants still have the leaves necessary for butterfly production.  Butterflies have been numerous here this year but the ravages of age combined with hot days have limited our outdoor time.  We have yet to see a Milkweed leaf providing food for a growing caterpillars or a chrysalis containing a developing butterfly.  The process has continued without us and numerous new butterflies are feeding on our flowers.

Most of the time a feeding Monarch closes its wings above its body but this morning was different.  The overnight fog and dew had everything outside wet this morning.  The butterflies kept their wings flat and open while feeding to allow their wings to dry.  Great pictures seldom seen presented themselves.  If the approach was deemed too close, the butterfly simply flew away.

 

These two photos may be of the same male butterfly.  There is a black colored vein that connects the heavy black line at the edge of a wing with a similar line centered on the body.  The larger area of black on this line identifies this one as a male.  That feature is more clearly visible on the right wing in the first photo.

Butterflies were seen feeding on this native aster today but we have included this photo to accurately show the condition of our gardens this year.  We simply could not keep up and now the weeds are everywhere.  Their seed production continues uninterrupted so the problem will be more severe next year.  The pictured aster was moved into the garden recently and a wire cage has limited the deer feeding on this plant.  There is no growth beyond the top edge of the cage but we suspect that it would have grown much taller without the deer.  This one is late to open so the food it supplies will continue longer that the other flowers open now.  We wish that its name was known but for now we see it as Ed's Favorite.

Common Treasure

Not one to be driven by standard practice, we on occasion walk a less traveled path.  Some of our garden plants are nothing more than common roadside weeds.  Milkweed is just such a plant.  It was never purchased and we cannot recall intentionally planting it.  It occurs widely in our various gardens and is difficult to remove.  Its deeply placed horizontal root might require power equipment in order to completely dig it out.  It is a tough plant and we intentionally mow large patches of it so that the resulting new shoots and leaves will be available for the butterfly caterpillars that desperately need it to survive in the fall.

Some years Milkweed flowers opened at the same time as the end of the school year.  The appearance of this overpowering scent marked the beginning of yet another summer vacation.  One does not have to get close to the plants to savor the amazingly sweet fragrance but it always draws me close.  After all of these years, I still stop to enjoy the scent while placing my nose in close proximity to feeding bees.  Their mood has always been tranquil while they gather this delicious pollen.  Some find this behavior of me intentionally getting close to bees slightly disturbing.

Our fields also hold many of these plants.  The famed Monarch Butterflies feed on various different flowers but lay their eggs only on milkweed plants.  The difference in flower color is worth noting.  Why that happens remains an unanswered question but I still marvel at it.  This lighter colored blossom clearly shows the unusual complexity of each flowers structure.  The darker petals fall away from the sexual parts making the pollinator's access easy.

We have yet to see the first Monarch Butterfly this year.  That they survive at all with their unusual migratory habit is a wonder.  Still, we will be relieved when they finally make their appearance here.  Some years their numbers are small but they have so far always returned.  Milkweed leaves await their return but for that butterfly any flower will do.

Two days after this post was written, a Monarch butterfly was seen flying in close proximity to a Milkweed blossom.  Becky had twice seen Monarchs earlier but then she is more observant than me.  All is right with the natural world as life continues to provide for the next generation.

A Scene Worth Watching

 Amy and I were having a walk around the garden when Ed told us that butterflies were congregating on the October Sky asters in the bed down by the road.  What a wonderful thing is was to stand and watch beautiful Monarch butterflies dance in the sunshine. 

The large mound of bluish purple asters is amazing on its own, but today it was buzzing with bees and dotted with butterflies.

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We spent some time trying to capture pictures of the butterflies.  When disturbed they would fly away, but never went far.

After a short while we stopped trying to capture the butterflies and just enjoyed watching them.  We wish them well on their trip south.  These beautiful butterflies are such a great example of Nature coming back against the odds.  To me they are a symbol of real hope!

A Sweet Summer Scent

Milkweed flowers will always be associated with summer vacation in my mind.  This former school teacher lived for summer vacation and the milkweed flowers marked its beginning.  Now we have given over large areas of our ground to milkweed and goldenrod.  These two plants work together to sustain the monarch butterfly during the important fall season.  Goldenrod flowers serve as a late food source for the butterfly while milkweed nourishes the caterpillar.

Fall is a critical period in the survival of the monarch butterfly.  Newly hatched eggs must develop into the butterflies that migrate to Mexico.  These fall caterpillars need milkweed leaves to feed on but the leaves shown in the pictures will have dried out and fallen by then.  Milkweed is a persistent plant and comes back after repeated mowing.  We have a five acre field that is tended so that it is filled with fresh young milkweed growth in September.  These plants do not flower but their tender leaves nourish the developing caterpillars.   The butterfly will feed on any flower so milkweed flowers are not necessary at this time.  Scores of new butterflies rise out of this field just in time to begin their journey south.

Now is the time to enjoy the sweet scent of the flowers.  One need not approach a flower to catch the fragrance as the air is filled with the perfume.  Bees spend long days working the flowers.  One need not fear a sting while surrounded by so many bees since they are focused on gathering food.  It has been reported that a bee cannot assume the stinging posture when it is loaded with pollen.  I think that both the bee and the person are made mellow by the cloud of sweet smell.

If one is interested in helping monarch butterflies survive, I believe that repeatedly cutting milkweed during the summer will insure a fall food source for the caterpillars.  Some plants must be left to develop seed to insure an abundant crop of new plants but there needs to be a generous supply of tender new leaves to support the eggs and caterpillars during September.

We have already  seen a few Monarch butterflies and the milkweed is ready and waiting!

Two In One Shot

Butterfly photography can be a frustrating experience but watching beautiful newly hatched Monarch butterflies flitting around the garden was too much of a temptation for me.  The sun was low in the west and getting the light behind you means casting a long shadow.  When these newly hatched beautiful butterflies get touched by your shadow they take off in a flash.  But the fragrance of the butterfly bush was strong and they kept coming back for more nectar.  Finally I sneaked along the path pretending to ignore the butterflies and I got my picture of two Monarchs.  Yes two, you can just see the front of the second butterfly at the bottom edge of the picture.
 

I snapped again and this time both butterflies are almost in entirely in the picture.  No clues are needed .  I was delighted!

Wow!  There they are centered in the picture like I knew what I was doing.  I couldn't believe my fantastic luck. I was ecstatic!

I was so excited when I saw this picture I almost couldn't stand it!  Ever since we have been here it has been one of our greatest pleasures watching the Monarchs fly over the garden heading south.   There numbers had dwindled in the past couple of years.  It is a delight to see more of them again!

Monarch Migration

Every Monarch I see makes me happy!!!!

When they open their wings for a photo I am delighted.  Isn't she gorgeous!  Where there's life there's hope!

Hope For The Monarch Butterflies

A very famous blue monster named Grover once said: " Where there is life there is hope!"  I'm sure someone else said it first, but that is who came to my mind while I was writing this. Serious concern for the survival of the Monarchs has been in the news, but I'm so happy that there are still Monarchs who made it here to lay their eggs on the acres of milkweed plants we encourage to grow here.

I did not see this Monarch in the field of milkweed.  This one chose to lay her eggs right inside the stone square of the garden.  We have allowed milkweed to grow in the garden and I would encourage any gardener in the paths of the migrating Monarchs to do the same.  One Monarch and 4 eggs doesn't seem like much, but I hope that this is being repeated over and over again in places out of my sight and camera range.  I happen to know where this milkweed leaf is growing.  In a few days the first instar should hatch.  I will be watching!  I hope that there are enough gardeners to make a difference and that we have not noticed too late.  But there she is, real proof that we can all hope for the best and do what we can.  For more information about Monarch butterflies, I recommend  the book,  An Extraordinary Life:The Story of a Monarch Butterfly by Laurence Pringle. It is a story to  read to children, but it contains a great deal of helpful information as well.  If we all do what we can to help we have great reason to hope!

Monarch Butterflies And Day Lilies

Yesterday I passed by this stand of milkweed plants that have been repeatedly cut off with the mower.  They always re-sprout and by my way of thinking it is good for the Monarch butterflies if plants in varying stages of maturity are available to them.  A female Monarch was working among the lower leaves close to the stem.  It would have been noble of me if my choice had been to not disturb this possibly egg laying butterfly for a photo attempt but in all honesty I had no camera with me.  A return to the plants today revealed no eggs to me.  My eyesight is not what it used to be and these eggs have never before been seen here.  Hopeful return visits to look for chewed leaves will be frequent. Becky saw two Monarchs yesterday as well.

Our Day Lily nursery bed did not disappoint.  In the three years that these mail order plants have been here they have grown into impressive specimens.  If all goes as planned, these plants  will be moved to a foundation planting in front of the house.  Near the center of this photo is a line of five purple colored flowers.  Directly in front of them are two flowers with cream colored petals with a rose colored ring.  There will be more to say about these flowers later.

Wineberry Candy is just coming into flower.  This plant was nearly lost when invasive pasture grass reclaimed the bed where it was planted.  The bed is lost to us but this plant was saved.

Swallowtail Kite is our tallest day lily.  Its yellow green center spot is so bright that it looks like an actual source of light.  This one is destined for a prominent spot in the foundation planting.

Indian Giver is the varietal name of the row of five flowers in the above picture.  The flower is beautiful while its name is insensitive.  The two flowers in front of five purple ones have previously bloomed as Indian Givers.  The change in color appears permanent as only one plant still produces purple flowers.  We have never read about plants changing their colors but perhaps this is suggested in the pejorative name.

Blueberry Candy is our last newly opened variety.  It is very similar in overall appearance to Wineberry Candy but subtle changes can be seen.  These minute differences make me glad that I do not sit on the board that decides if the plant before them is indeed worthy of a unique name.  I will plant these two with generous distance between them.  No need to make fussy comparison easy.

School Is Out

We found this land when I still had seven more years of teaching school ahead of me.  A quick trip home from work was followed by throwing wheelbarrows and tools in the bed of the pickup truck. The drive to our rural retreat brought me here with several hours of daylight left.  No road existed to the meadow that was to become our home site but the spot where tools were unloaded was surrounded by milkweed.  The scent of these flowers is unusual but incredibly sweet.  That smell came to signal to me that summer vacation was underway.

I am not alone in being drawn in by this sweet smell.  Soon every bee in the area will spend days working these flowers.  One year past, I started squash seeds early.  Squash plants came into bloom at the same time as the milkweed.  Dreams of early squash vanished when they received no pollinators.  It was not until the milkweed flowers were past that we saw young squash begin to grow.

Located in a north south river valley, we are on the migration route.  In years past Monarch butterflies stopped here in great numbers.  Last year they were few in number in our fields.  We have been watching for a glimpse of fluttering orange and black wings.  Two orange butterflies zipped past me today and I wished that a Monarch was here.  Today's butterflies flew fast with frequent sharp changes of direction.  They were also smaller than a Monarch.  Likely, they were Checkers.

Our fields are home to many milkweed plants.  Some have dark colored flowers while others are light pink.  We have no plausible explanation for the difference in color.

Elderberry is common here but the native deer usually eat enough of the bush to limit flowering.  This plant is growing near to the pond where the deer drink.  Somehow it escaped pruning this winter and is now covered with blossoms.  The structure of the flowers is unusual but after my recent confusion about male and female flower parts this picture will have to speak for itself.

As a child growing up in the 1950's, I have a memory centered around elderberries.  Most of the mothers of my classmates were stay at home moms.  Many were farm wives.  My mother had a job in the city.  How she took care of her three sons and her husband while working five days a week  escapes me.  On one corner of our land, two small streams came together.  Between the two streams elderberries grew in abundance.  I would fill a paper grocery bag with clusters bearing ripe elderberries and proudly present this bounty to my mother.  Her time was already overbooked but she did what had to be done to transform my berries into a pie.  I do not remember the pie as being particularly tasty but I do remember my feeling like I had provided food for the family.  Health issues have removed pie from our table now so these berries will be left for the critters.   The flowers did however provide a connection for me with a pleasant childhood memory.

Where Are The Monarchs ?

Our nearby river, the flat muddy Unadilla, is a south flowing stream.  A diminishing finger of bedrock ridge sends the river on a westward loop here.  Migrating flyers ignore this jog in the river and fly directly over us.  Once a National Guard cargo plane on a training flight below the ridge line flew directly over our home at a frighteningly low altitude as it followed the straight line down the valley. Geese and Monarch butterflies provide more pleasant visual experiences as they migrate directly over us.

Our fields of milkweed stand ready for the Monarchs that enjoy summer here.  This year they have been almost completely absent from our place.  An occasional tattered individual has been seen dining on an Echinacea flower.  The milkweed flowers are long past but the Monarch needs only its leaves to receive their eggs.  All is ready but for some reason the butterflies are not here.

This stand of milkweed is growing in an area that I mow.  It was last mowed mid July so that the milkweed would re sprout growing tender young leaves and late flowers.  The young leaves are intended for use by the butterflies, but the second flush of flowers is intended for me.  I find their fragrance deliciously sweet and I have a longstanding personal connection with this plant.  For many years I would enjoy the first week of my summer vacation from school while surrounded by newly opened milkweed flowers.  Now the flowers remind me of wonderful first days of summers spent free of employment.

The many weeks of rainy weather no doubt impacted the northern Monarch migration.  It will soon be time for the summer butterflies to lay the eggs that will develop into the young ones that make the southern migration.  With so few butterflies seen here we will likely not find any caterpillars or cocoons on our milkweed plants.  Our last chance to see Monarchs this year will be during the migration when topography works to funnel the fliers directly over us.