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Tag Archives: Monarch butterflies

embrace this day

11 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in farmer's market, garden, healthy food, home, life, Lifestyle, mission, Monarch butterflies, photography, quick recipes, sustainable lifestyle, Virginia

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Tags

farmer's market, harvest, healthy meals, Ichi Ke Jiro persimmon, Monarch butterflies, October, photography, quick meals, vegetarian, Virginia

I feel giddy, as if I were in love for the first time.

I am beguiled by October. Yes, the month of October is a time to celebrate—and feel the flush of Mother Nature’s boundless beauty. I embrace her, crave her, and revel in her. The planet shifts, shadows elongate, high humidity and biting insects depart, and temperatures top out at 70 degrees F— yes I am in love again.

At home, the garden is bursting with colors of fall. As many plants begin their decent into dormancy, others like this ‘Muhlenbergia capillaris’ explode with riotous hue. This is the only pink that I tolerate in my gardens, as this display epitomizes fall in my world — life is intoxicating!

Monarch season was extremely challenging this year, as the oleander aphid ravaged the host plants (tropical milkweed) forcing me to raise most monarch larvae indoors, multiplying my daily chores ten-fold. The monarch’s predatory wasp also took a high toll on the larvae, leaving dozens dead. However, ninety monarch beauties successfully emerged and flew from my terrace over the past month, hopefully to find safe haven in a warm climate, where they may overwinter. Nearly one-hundred others went Fed-Ex to southern states where they will live out their lives in a lush botanic gardens and educate visitors.

The farmer’s market is brimming with large, leafy vegetables, root crops, and loads of pumpkins. Therefore my daily lunch plate is full of steamed kale and red garnet sweet potatoes, splashed with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and garnished with sliced almonds. Six minutes are all one needs to provide a healthy, farm fresh meal.

Another tasty mid-day meal came from the remaining bit of basil pesto left in the food processor following a massive harvest. I tossed in a peeled avocado, a splash of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. After a brief spin, the fluffy dip was quickly consumed with crusty crackers.

A third fast meal came from a friend who dropped off assorted tomatoes, eggplant, and squash. I quickly sliced, diced, and cubed the lot, added fresh okra from the garden and voila! a beautiful medley of healthy goodness. A quick saute in olive oil, then covered and steamed until tender, a half tube of tomato paste, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper finished this dish! Topped with grated cheese and toasted breadcrumbs, made this a memorable, quick, healthy meal. Try it!

Remember the Ichi Ke Jiro persimmon blog from this spring? Well, twenty-five fruit formed, despite the July wind storm that claimed half of the tree, and they are amazing. Ever had one? The fruit is unlike native persimmons. One fills my hand, is eaten while hard, and has none of the tannic aftertaste of the native. In fact, this fruit tastes like a firm melon! What I do not eat, will be introduced at market this Saturday and boggle curious shoppers. Looking forward to the dialogue!

PS There is still nothing like a power snack of the hard-boiled egg. I always have some in the fridge, ready to peel when I need a boost. Better to have a snack like this on hand rather than eat a carb or a handful of chocolate!

Remember to roll your mouse over the images to read captions. Click on images if you wish to enlarge.

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

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M is for monarch

27 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in home, Lifestyle, Monarch butterflies, photography, sustainable lifestyle, Virginia

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Tags

butterfly larva, Central Virginia, climate, magnificent monarchs, Monarch butterflies, Monarch migration, Monarch Waystation, nature, photography, science

The mighty, yet oh-so-fragile monarch butterfly has begun its annual migration. This pattern is critical for the survival of this species, and I help where I can. Four years ago I took a course on monarchs and to date raised over one thousand. The Monarch Waystation section of my garden is filled with host plants that attract monarch females where they lay eggs. This garden also supplies essential nectar for their long journey to Mexico.

newly emerged Monarch tasting nectar for the first time

Here on the ground, I collect, feed, protect larvae and release adult butterflies. Since few folks actually observe the transition of the monarch from larva to pupa stage, I thought I would share recent photos. These delicate creatures are fascinating and I glow with pride when a minute egg transitions into the marvelous monarch under my care. These beauties are endangered, as merely 3 to 4 eggs out of one hundred would survive in the wild without help from monitors.  Please enjoy!

Remember to slide your mouse over these images for further captions. Click to enlarge any image.
These larvae and pupa are seen attached to the roof of the lettuce container, where they finish their cycle in the safety of indoors.

A hardened chrysalis is hanging on the left of new pupa and in fourteen days it will hatch into a magnificent monarch. So goes the cycle.

Too learn more, please click on this link to see more images from last year’s monarch season: https://dianelasauce.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/the-thing-about-monarchs/

Stella, my curious neighbor learns about the wonders of Monarchs in my gardens

giggles with the flutterbies

 

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

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how dry is your garden?

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in Lifestyle, Monarch butterflies, season, summer, US drought, water conservation

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Tags

how dry is your garden, migration, Monarch butterflies, US drought, Virginia drought, water conservation

Drought is severe in dozens of US states this summer. This condition will drive up food and insurance prices as well as reduce the number of garden pollinators, such as butterflies, as their loss of host plants succumb to heat. This will also affect the fall migration of the Monarch butterfly, as there will be few plants to nectar on during their flight.

Here are a few thoughts on water conservation and ways we can help our wild creatures survive unbearable conditions.

Please read my blog https://dianelasauce.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/the-thing-about-water/

Here’s to fall and a gentle rainy season.

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Check out HGTV where two of my garden designs are featured…

I was featured on HGTVGardens.com!

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Essay Titles

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