by Susan | Aug 7, 2021 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
My friend, Christina Gantz of Kvetina Wildscaping, has taken the concept of raising Monarchs to a new level. She first told me about her plans for a Monarch nursery over the winter. Today, Hannah and I drove over to her hatchery to take a look. It was magical. While I...
by Susan | Mar 31, 2021 | On My Mind
Mary sent me this picture of how she’s packed up the Monarch butterflies she’s created for springtime gifts for family and friends. I shared Mary’s work before with her Covid Christmas tree. I LOVE this presentation – such a cool idea. Thanks...
by Susan | Oct 12, 2020 | On the Farm
Paul built this great Monarch Nursery for me this year, but it didn’t get much use. With Hannah returning to college earlier than usual, we didn’t get into caterpillar search mode the way we have in past years. Yet, at the end of August, I found some...
by Susan | May 16, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
For the past couple of summers, Hannah and I have been raising Monarch butterflies. I’ve used little net houses and plastic totes to raise them. Inside, they’ve escaped, and I’ve found the caterpillars crawling up the walls. Outside, the wind has...
by Susan | Aug 24, 2019 | On the Farm
Last month, Hannah and I began collecting Monarch caterpillars. We set them up in a screened in box on the porch and cared for them with Milkweed scavenged from throughout town. The caterpillars still in our garden ate every leaf of all of my Milkweed – all...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2019 | On the Farm
Monarchs Butterflies are so fanciful dancing about the Milkweed as if they haven’t a care in the world. They seem to flit about with no rhyme or reason and are difficult to photograph (in focus) during flight. For the past two summers, Hannah and I adopted a few...
by Susan | Aug 30, 2017 | On the Farm
This summer’s fascination with Monarch butterflies jump started with our visit to the Rhoades Butterfly Garden in early July. Luring Monarchs to my garden has been on my mind for a while. I planted Milkweed seeds in May. They’re growing strong in pots on my...
by Susan | Aug 1, 2017 | On the Farm
Yesterday was a lucky day for me. I was working at home day on website projects when I noticed one of the caterpillars Hannah and I have been raising hanging from the bottom of a leaf. I set my iPhone timer at 30-minute intervals to remind me to check on it throughout...
by Susan | Jul 21, 2017 | On the Farm
I’ve been working on introducing Monarch butterflies to my garden since the spring when I planted Milkweed – the Monarch caterpillar’s food of choice. After visiting the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden, I’ve become a bit of a sleuth –...
by Susan | Jul 4, 2017 | Out and About in Maine
On this Fourth of July, Hannah and I explored some of the beautiful gardens of Mount Desert Island. Our initial destination was the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden in Southwest Harbor. This small, but spectacular garden was designed by Bruce John Riddell who is...
