Welcome Back to School
So glad to see you again!
Musings of a Technology Teacher...
What did you do this summer? My summer has been busy with gardening, reading, and writing a research paper and enjoying the warm weather. In addition to these activities I have been raising monarch butterflies. I would like to tell you about my ventures in this important contribution to the population of this butterfly. My story begins like this...
Crazy Woman in Michigan Raising Monarchs
Neighbors have been reporting a strange thing happening in the backyard at 160 Davis Road, a large woman, Dessalee, and her dog, Copa, have been seen making numerous trips out to the garden all hours of the day. Last night she was seen tromping crazily to the garden about 9 pm in the pouring rain with Copa at her heels.
To see what was actually happening we asked her husband, Broady, what was going on. He stated she has been raising monarch butterflies this summer and she was checking on her monarchs.
"Do you know they go through several stages of metamorphis," he said.
He also added, "The woman is obsessed, at one time we had 12 cats in the porch and when we go anywhere we have to stop to look at the milkweed plants for monarch eggs."
"It is getting out of hand and I am ready to put her bed out in the garden so she won't miss a butterfly emerging from it's pupa," Broady added.
Individuals like Dessalee play an important part in helping the monarch survive and thrive in an ever changing World that depends on the monarch to pollinate plants. Every year they migrate to Mexico for the winter. As they migrate they stop in many places where they pollinate trees and plants and without them the vegetation might cease to exist. The monarch population has been in decline in recent years due to loss of habitat and many individuals and organizations are supporting the effort to help bring back their numbers by raising and releasing them. Also, by collecting milkweed seeds and planting them in gardens and spreading the word to others about their importance and how they can help.
If you would like to learn more about the monarch click here and read more information. Oh, there are also some puzzles and games, too, at the bottom of the website to try!