Celebrating the ordinary
I like butterflies!
It still feels and looks like winter, but birds have been singing and I’m confident spring is on the way. It will be time for planting before we know it. Depending on what we plant, we can help monarchs and other backyard wildlife.
In particular, milkweeds attract monarchs, and other butterflies and pollinators. These are the ones I grow in my garden, and I’ve found monarch caterpillars on all of them.
I have milkweed plants because they are essential to the survival of monarch butterflies, and I recently had fun trying to capture images of the seeds. Isn’t this arrangement a great example of beautiful and efficient packaging?
A recent New York Times article and blog post indicate monarch butterfly numbers continue to dwindle. Dr. Chip Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch, will be in Lexington to speak about the latest news and how we can help.
What: “Monarch Conservation: Challenges and Opportunities”
When: February 12, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Where: Gluck Equine Center Auditorium,1400 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY
Cost: $5; free to Friends of the Arboretum, Wild Ones members, and Garden Club of Kentucky members
This talk is sponsored by the Lexington Arboretum, Lexington Chapter of Wild Ones, and the Garden Club of Kentucky. I’m looking forward to it, and if you live nearby I hope you’ll join us.
With help from my artistic friend, Amanda J. Cawby, I have created a set of butterfly playing cards that I hope will combine learning and fun. I would like to encourage kids of all ages to learn to identify and appreciate our native butterflies.
When I know the name of a plant, bird, butterfly, etc., I’m more likely to notice it and connect with it in a different way. There’s a big difference for me between “there goes a big orange butterfly” and “there goes a monarch!”
This deck of cards contains 22 pairs of common Kentucky butterflies that I have photographed in our backyard in Lexington, Kentucky. These butterflies can also be found in most of the eastern United States. The cards are packaged in a clear plastic case, and come with tips for how you can help butterflies, and directions for playing games like “Go Fish,” Monarch (similar to “Old Maid”), and Memory/Concentration. They can also be used as flash cards.
To order, please send your name, address, and phone number, with a check for $15 per set (includes taxes and shipping) to:
Betty Hall Photography
224 Leawood Dr.
Lexington, KY 40502
As of November 1, cards will also be available at Good Foods Market and Café, 455 Southland Dr. in Lexington.
These cards make great stocking stuffers or birthday gifts for grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends. I like to think of adults using these cards with children as one way to encourage them to enjoy nature and being outdoors.
I finally saw monarchs in the backyard in late August. Soon after that, I found several small caterpillars on my tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) and butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). I brought the caterpillars inside, and they eventually made chrysalises. Recently the first butterfly emerged. The dark spots on the lower wings indicated it was a male.
