This is Bob the caterpillar.
Yes I know, I name everything Bob.
I have a bad memory and this helps.
My favorite blog is "Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean"...because his name is Bob.
A few years ago we had two very large oak trees cut down. One was over a hundred years old, no, I didn't plant it myself! With that large empty space we decided to take advantage of the newly found sunny area and plant a wildflower garden.
We saw plenty of butterflies. viceroys, skippers, cabbage whites, red admirals, swallowtails, and more...PLUS there were monarchs! I saw a program about their migration and a group supporting their habitat called Monarch Watch. We planted a lot of milkweed among other buggy lovin' plants in hopes of seeing caterpillars.
Well, this weekend I spotted the first monarch caterpillar of the season!
See! It's official...we have a sign.
Folks that walk past our home always comment on the crazy gardens...
and the crazy people that live there!
Bob is having a nice time.
Wave Bob!
I guess he was too busy...
This is what Bob will grow up to be.
Then he'll fly south for the winter.
Lucky bug.
We planted two or three of these.
I think there's a few dozen now.
I don't remember what this is, but it's growing and has flowers.
If you look really close, there's a little bug in there!
Don't forget to contact your representatives and demand that they protect our park lands!
They were created for people not corporations!
Check out these links:
Mohican Advocates has letters and petitions for you to sign and use.
You can find your Senator here:
You can find your state Representative here:
The Nature Conservancy:
The National Audubon Society:
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: