Thinking about these guys makes me fill up with happiness. Is it worth planting butterfly bush as well? Let me know if you like Flight Behavior.
deetoo,
I resonate with your post and find myself posing similar questions. Thanks so much for the conversation. It was wonderful.
I know! Me too! If you are talking about butterfly bush as a perennial nectar plant, that would be great. Their host plant is milkweed only and there are several varieties.
I will let you know what I think of the book.
Jeanne,
I was wrong. The generations coming north from Mexico live up to 6 weeks. The monarchs migrating south to Mexico in the late summer/fall live approximately 8 months.
The monarchs that emerge in my garden in the fall are heavier, bigger and their bodies are furrier. The are built for the long journey to the mountains in Mexico.
Imagine holding a butterfly..sometimes when I talk with them they turn their heads. When they take flight for the first time they look like toddlers. Some of them don’t catch on the first try and tumble to the ground. You pick them up and whisper to them..you aren’t a caterpillar, you have wings and you can fly. Once I walked over a mile with a butterfly perched on my index finger pointing south telling her, You can do this, but it’s October so you need to rev up your wings. She finally took flight.
I’ve been identified by some as the lady who raises butterflies. The truth is the butterflies are raising me.
Ok..I’ll zip it now. Posting about this really lifted me. So grateful for this place.❤️
Oh don’t zip it, Stardancer. Your posts have filled me with wonder.
You've convinced this former city kid to plant a butterfly bush and some milkweed! What an uplifting thought to hold as I retire for the night. Thanks and blessings to all of you!
Did anyone mention that the monarch is now endangered? Everyone plant milkweed! https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23472939/monarch-butterflies-endangered-pesticides-climate-change/
I have been following this story for the last month or so. ?
The butterflies that migrate from Mexico in the Spring return to Texas to locate milkweed to lay their eggs. This will be the 1st generation. What will they find this year?
All you need is one monarch butterfly to show up in your garden. They lay over 200 eggs. ? I will continue to focus on the transformational power of love. The journey isn’t easy. It may appear as if we are losing. Our hearts know..love wins! I’m going to return to that sacred place that you refer to in one of your posts, deetoo! Again and again, when discouragement begins to set in I will not return to the jar. I’m going to the sanctuary! Beauty, truth and wonder is the life Ive signed up for. That’s good news!
https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-butterfly-sanctuary-loses-challenge-to-border-wall/
(Thank you, Jeanne... today felt more like a Full Moon day... sweet dreams)
I am in a work situation in which one of my coworkers-- her energy is just very labile and exhausting. I am an empath and she seems to persistently exist in a high level of anxiety but her messages are always counter and I often wonder if she is trying to punk me. There is a level of contrarian in her and she seems to enjoy the role of martyrdom and at any rate blows up multiple situations into a three ring circus. I cannot imagine how dense the energy field has to be around her husband. Anyhow, she stirs up a lot of controversy and I think she cries at work a few times a week-- probably from emotional exhaustion- the level of energy she spins on cannot be infinite in supply.
My other coworkers and I-- our strategy has been to not feed into the behavior. Just say okay and move on when she makes dramatic statements etc. My latest strategy has been to erect the big plastic bubble around me before walking in. I try to keep a very even, positive flow. My other strategy is to find something outside the room (such as procedures off site) to keep busy with aka avoidance.
At this point, my hope is that she decides this is not challenging enough for her and she looks to seek out a position that provides greater and more frequent adrenaline rushes.