Monarch Butterflys

Monarch On Echinacea
Danaus plexippus on Echinacea purpurea.
The entire plant can be used for its immune boosting properties. The purple ray flowers attach to a round, high and spiky cone, hence the common name, purple coneflower. Technically speaking, this thick and spiky cone is actually hundreds of flowers, all tightly packed together. Echinacea's name is rooted in the Greek word “echinos,” meaning "hedgehog," because of its spiny seed head. 

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar
On Milkweed.
Which end is which on this Monarch Caterpillar On Milkweed. Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.

Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 11

Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 17

Monarch Butterfly On Purple Loosetrife

Monarch Butterfly On Purple Loosetrife

Monarch Butterfly On Purple Loosetrife

Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus on purple asters.
They say that the name Butterfly is of unknown origin, but I believe that they were originally called Flutterbys, as I like to call them, and that someone (perhaps a child), probably mispronounced it, and it stuck. They are fascinating creatures who take to the air on gossamer wings. They've come to symbolize metamorphosis. These remarkable pollinators display a diversity of colors and patterns.
Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae). Another plant to ease wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tension and congestion.

Monarch Butterfly on purple asters.

Monarch Butterfly On Butterfly Weed
Danaus plexippus on Asclepias tuberosa, a species of milkweed native to eastern North America.

                         

(Danaus plexippus) on purple cone flower.

Echinacea purpurea. Echinacea's name is rooted in the Greek word “echinos,” meaning "hedgehog," because of its spiny seed head.

Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 23
Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea, From A Different Angle
This photo was Awarded Capture My Vermont, Photo of the Day, for August 17, 2018.

Monarch Butterfly On Goldenrod

Monarch Butterfly On Milkweed 

This photo was Awarded Capture My Vermont, Photo of the Day, for July 20, 2018.

Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants, which is why I always let some milkweed grow in my garden. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are rapidly disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.

Monarch Butterfly On Pine

Monarch Butterfly On Bee Balm

                              
Monarch Butterfly On Young Crabapples

Monarch Butterfly In Flight

Monarch butterfly alert: There are concerns about the alarming decline of the western monarch population, which has plummeted by 95%, from more than 10 million in the 1980s to less than 30,000 in 2018. Insects can bounce back quickly when conditions improve, but unfortunately the numbers were not any better in 2019. A recent census of the wintering sites along the California coast revealed mostly empty trees once festooned with monarchs. The decline is due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and drought triggered by climate change. None of us can turn around those big trends individually, but what each of us can do is make our backyards and public spaces more attractive to monarchs by planting the right milkweed plants. Plant, and they will come! Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.

Monarch butterfly on Blue Billygoat weed
(aka floss flower, bluemink, blueweed, pussy foot, Mexican paintbrush) The easiest way to tell a male monarch butterfly from a female monarch is by looking for two dark spots on the hindwings—the female butterflies don’t have these spots. A female monarch in the wild can lay up to 500 eggs on milkweed plants throughout her lifetime. The adult monarchs you see fluttering through your backyard when the weather’s warm typically live only about 4 or 5 weeks — just long enough to mate and produce the next group. It takes four generations of monarchs to complete their annual migration journey before ending up in your garden again. However, the fourth “super generation” that overwinters in Mexico can live for as long as eight months. Monarch butterflies can flap their wings up to 12 times a second when flying at their fastest. Monarch butterflies fly a long distance during fall migration, farther than any other tropical butterfly—up to 3,000 miles.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly On Echinacea

This is a male. Isn't he pretty? 

 It has been known by a variety of other names including black swallowtail, American swallowtail, parsnip swallowtail, parsley swallowtail, & Papilio polyxenes asterius. Black swallowtail caterpillars utilize a variety of herbs in the carrot family (Apiaceae) as host plants.

 

Black Swallowtail Butterfly On Zinnias. (Papilio polyxenes) Also known as American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail. This is a male. Its caterpillar is called the parsley worm because the caterpillar

feeds on parsley. They also host on dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, and common rue.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly On Marigolds

Female, Papilio polyxenes. Or it might be a Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio troilus. I've never seen one with such thin translucent wings before. In many cultures, it is believed the black butterfly is a symbol of transition, renewal or rebirth.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly On Lilacs

This photo  has been awarded the Photo of the Day award on Capture My Vermont, on May 28th, 2015.

 Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar On Parsley

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Goldenrod

 

Bee On Goldenrod

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Goldenrod.
Goldenrod is a perennial plant, well-known for its healing properties. This wild edible reproduces through its roots, bulbs, stems and by its seed. Goldenrod does not cause seasonal allergies as many tend to believe. Very few people are allergic to goldenrod pollen because goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky, and is spread by insects, instead of the wind like ragweed is. Only wind-pollinated plants--like ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia), which blooms at the same time as goldenrod, and has an especially irritating pollen - make enough pollen, and spread it widely enough, to cause allergic reactions. Medicinally it's used to counter allergies (especially pollen allergies), fevers, sore throats, coughs, colds and the flu, as a gentle tonic to the kidney and urinary systems, to relieve colic in babies, and gas in adults. Goldenrod can be used fresh or as a dried herb to make tea (although it is bitter), or as a fluid extract, tincture, or in capsules. All aerial parts of the plant can be used. The flowers are edible and make attractive garnishes on salads. Flowers and leaves (fresh or dried) are used to make tea. Leaves can be cooked like spinach or added to soups, stews or casseroles. Leaves can be blanched and frozen for later use in soups, stews, or stir fry throughout the winter or spring.

 

Monarch Butterfly On Goldenrod

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/foraging-using-goldenrod/

Irises

Lovely Irises

 Blue Flag Irises

Blue Flag Irises growing wild by the water

Iris germanica 'Batik'

Lovely Bearded Irises

The roots of the iris plant have been used medicinally to treat skin infections, syphilis, stomach problems and dropsy. Today the roots are still used to purge the liver. Some alternative medicine uses include using yellow iris to treat dandruff and white iris to treat asthma and bronchitis, as well as use as a diuretic.

So Pretty In Purple, Irises

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© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Mediterranean Bells Allium

Mediterranean Bells Allium
Also Known as Sicilian honey lily, or Sicilian Honey Garlic.
The bulbs are not edible but the leaves are dried and used as seasoning in Bulgaria where it is grown as an herb. The thickest leaves are cut and pulverized with equal parts salt and the mixture is dried. It is used as a seasoning salt on vegetables, potatoes, etc. The leaves may also be used in a similar fashion to chives and the flowers make a pretty garnish.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Fun At The Museum

Is this the Big Girl Chair?

Me at Shelburne Museum, in the big wooden chair. Photographed by Trudy Macy

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Art Exhibition: Varied and Alive

                           

Varied and Alive: Nancy Winship Milliken,  is a solo outdoor exhibition of 4, nature-centric , Monumental Sculptures set in a pollinator meadow at SHELBURNE MUSEUM in Shelburne, Vermont. Winship Milliken’s 4 monumental post-and-beam structures feature different natural materials intrinsic to the land, all of which explore themes related to sustainability: horsehair, wool, beeswax, and driftwood. Activated by the wind and sun, each sculpture uniquely moves, changes, and adapts to the environment, inspiring community conversations surrounding our roles within and relationships to nature.

Earth Glow, 15’x17’. 2020–22, 

Charred wood post and beam, steel cable, fishing line, white beeswax, and hardware.  In collaboration with Eliot Hays Lothrop.

Earth Glow grew out of the artist’s multiyear exploration with a new, challenging material: beeswax. “In a way, to cope with our stay-at-home order two years ago, I started rolling beeswax into spheres,” Winship Milliken explains. “In a process of accumulation of both time and spheres, I have bins of them.” Based in a multisensory and meditative process—common aspects of Winship Milliken’s artistic practice—the artist heats the beeswax until the sensitive material becomes malleable and can be shaped into orb-like objects.The beeswax glows and absorbs heat during warm, sun-soaked days and subtly undulates in the breeze on windy ones, reacting and adapting to its location. In place at Shelburne Museum, Earth Glow highlights the ecological and agricultural importance of bees and other pollinators and extends a visual reference to the sun’s power in relation to the Museum’s two solar arrays.

Earth Glow

Lake Bones, 15’x17’, 2021–22

 Charred wood post and beam, Lake Champlain shoreline and tributary driftwood, limestone, water glass, and steel. In collaboration with Eliot Hays Lothrop

The driftwood Winship Milliken gathered for Lake Bones was harvested along the shorelines of Lake Champlain and its tributary streams and rivers. After water, wind, and sun first shape and smooth the wood into abstracted forms, Winship Milliken returns the timber to the land and to its original, upright orientation. The artist honors this transformative process and the wood’s new identity by applying a white limestone wash. Coated in this material commonly found in Shelburne, the irregularly shaped driftwood is unified through its new sheen and shared metamorphic journey. 

While there are many ecological benefits of both living trees in watersheds and dead trees that end up as driftwood in streams and lakes—including providing habitats for insects—Lake Bones challenges viewers to consider the importance of the forests, waterways, and watersheds themselves. In the face of climate change, Winship Milliken says, healthy watersheds, forests, floodplains, riparian areas and wetlands provide ways to “increase resiliency and reduce [the] impacts from flooding and stormwater.” 

Meadow Breath, 15’x17’, 2021–22

 Charred wood post and beam, raw white New England wool, fishing net, and hardware. In collaboration with Eliot Hays Lothrop.

Meadow Breath gives form to the invisible as wind breathes new life into a woven net of local raw wool. Evocative of a flock of sheep grazing in a field, the wool in the sculpture moves by expanding and contracting with direction from the wind. Over time, Meadow Breath will change its form in response to the natural elements, from tonal shifts caused the sunlight peeking through tufts of wool to textural evolutions from the felting action of rain and wind. Through its adaptation to place, Meadow Breath is a reminder of how humankind has influenced and forever altered our natural environment, from the changing climate to expanding urban development. More specifically, according to Winship Milliken, Meadow Breath “references one important stage of the natural history of New England—largely forested areas converted to open agricultural landscape for sheep grazing—and it opens a conversation about the sustainable future of these landscapes.” 

Pasture Song, 15’x17’, 2018–22

Charred wood post and beam, fishing net, white horsehair, and hardware. In collaboration with Eliot Hays Lothrop.

Pasture Song is a kinetic tapestry of horsehair, tied into thousands of cello bow hair bundles attached to netting. Energized by the sun and wind, the fibrous strands shimmer and stretch outward, extending their reach beyond the structural netting and wooden frame. Recalling a herd of horses or a flowing field of grass, Pasture Song celebrates nature’s leading role and immense power as it influences the sculpture’s varied tones, shapes, and movements.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.