monarch!
I’ve waited all summer and was thrilled to spot a monarch on my butterfly bush today.
This summer, my friend the artist Ruth Marshall ran an amazing program with Patti Cooper on the premises of Morris Park Library. As part of their “We Are All Connected Program”, they raised Monarchs. This program offered “art and conservation education [and conveyed] how the health and well being of the Monarch butterfly is connected to the health and well being of us all”. While I didn’t get there during the program; I feel connected!
The lack of diversity in the insects I see is concerning. I’m honestly a little sad that windscreens are no longer splattered at the end of a road trip. Though I don’t mind squishing the invasive spotted lantern fly.
When we worked on part of the back yard this summer, we intentionally chose as many butterfly and pollinator plants we could. This particular butterfly bush is existing and a few years old now. We added two more and I look forward to seeing how they do.