Well, it’s that time of year again when we start to worry about the Monarch Butterflies. Lots of
doom and gloom…talk about these beautiful creatures facing extinction. Let’s hope it’s
just talk.
We are doing our part by leaving a good sized slice our garden exclusively for milk weed
plants. In the past no respectable farmer would do that because milk weed is toxic to
cattle. Or so I am told. I have never seen a cow munching milk weed. They seem to
know plants. All over North America eccentrics like Marjorie and me have little patches
of milk weed. Others, using little thought, spread the insecticide Round Up. Deadly.
And today there were two monarchs nosing about. I hope laying eggs. Eventual
larvae who can munch they way through our dining area.
Milk weed gets a little ugly about now. Other creatures chew at the leaves. But
Monarch larvae when and if they appear are obvious and systematic. Big fat larvae
eventually appear.
Big question
How much time do they need to eventually emerge as Monarch butterflies.
This is the beginning of Sept. October comes fast as does the frost. Is there
enough time left? Then they have the long flight to Mexico or part way there.
Monarch Butterfly Population in 2020-21
How would you go about counting North America’s monarch butterfly population? Scientists can’t count each and every butterfly. Instead they count the area of land occupied by the monarchs in their Mexican over-wintering habitat. The 2020-2021 Monarch Butterfly Report below shows only 2.1 hectares, down from 6.05 hectares just 2 years ago. It’s one of the lowest acreage numbers for the winter population in 20 years. Entomologists believe that Monarch survival requires at least 15 acres of wintering butterflies annually. The situation is dire. Why is this happening?
Illegal Logging Is Increasing in Mexican Winter Habitat
Those were grand years, the 1950’s. I thought they would never end, as the song goes. But they did and as near as I can see they have not been repeated. The innocence, sense of adventure, opportunities, simplicity, thrift, tight friendships of those years are difficult to replicate today. This picture for instance, was taken on one of our winter camping trips with the 38th Rover Scout troop led by Ed Hisson (right) where we tramped into a huge log cabin built by a group of older WW2 veterans deep in the Canadian Boreal wilderness north of Parry Sound. They shared it with us for some reason I cannot fathom…perhaps just the Rover Scout bonds. That’s Big Red Stevenson in the foreground, one of my lifetimes friends and me in the background. Our coats come from the War Surplus stores of which there were many in the 1950s.
WE did not belong to a fraternity at U. of T. but we went to this fondly remembered fraternity party one night. Eric, Marjorie and I. No pocket money for beer. just enough for one cigar as you can see. Then we hit a bonanza in the dark.
“A half bottle of red wine, here…”
“Take a swig.”
“finish it off before the owner comes back”
“What are these lumps?”
“CIGARETTE BUTTS? CIGAR BUTTS!!
The bottle had been used as an ashtray. We did not notice until we got some distance down in the bottle.
