My original goal when I gained access to a garden of my own was to grow my own vegetables. That did not work out so well. It is simply more cost effective to buy my own. However, I discovered that with a little work to rehabilitate the soil and a strategic use of water flowers have taken hold. So I shifted my goal to that of creating a bee sanctuary. While I do have bees visit the the flowers, I also have hummingbirds, moths, wasps and hornets, and butterflies. All of these are pollinators too. Okay, let’s shift the intention again: my goal is to create a pollinators’ oasis.
This weekend while visiting a local nature center, I coincidentally came across a lecture by the center’s curator on the monarch butterfly. (If you want to know more about the monarch, see here: ) The center plants a variety of milkweed types, the monarchs’ favorite food, in an attempt to boost their population in the area. The monarchs’ habitat, like for many species, is threatened by– guess who?– us. They also rear a few in captivity for educational purposes which they then release. I happened to be there when they released a newly emerged monarch. See the video below.
Now, I don’t intend to rear any at home, since there is some controversy to that (if you read the Wikipedia article), but I do happen to have two packages of pink milkweed seeds. It won’t hurt to sow them. I will wait to a waxing moon to do so.
Nevertheless, like it or not, I seem to have become drawn to the cause of saving this iconic pollinator.
ljgloyd (c) 2021
Miss Pelican's Perch 