Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Promethea Moths, Milkweed, Manistee River Trail...It's All Happening

Summer abundance is here and we are in a state of full on wonder! Happy Summer Solstice everyone.

Remember our Promethea Moth cocoons? Well, they emerged on 6/19. Wow, oh wow. I am so grateful I was home to witness and to document for Steve.

Here's a video showcasing these newly emerged promethea moths.


Rather unbelievably, when Steve arrived home, one pair was already mating and another male flew in to this area, circled a few times and found the other female spot on. Those pheromones are a potent brew! The male moth flew from the woods a thousand or more feet away.


Our Common Milkweed patch is THE place to be right now.



Butterflyweed is super happy this year, thanks to Steve making some space for sunshine to reach them well.


Nursery plants are dealing with the odd weather for us this year and many are growing fabulously...


Our vegetable garden now really looks like a permaculture garden, finally! It's been an odyssey of mistakes and redos, but we are getting there. Plants are growing inches a day with the heat...


Our windy nature paths lead us amongst all sorts of life and beauty...







We also use our time to get out and explore, of course. Once a week we head to Mohican State Park/State Forest (map) to hike 10-15 miles, plus tuck in backpacking adventures here and there. Here's a quick weekend backpacking trip to the Manistee River:







Please tell us about your summer; we would love to know what you are up to.

6 comments:

  1. How wonderful...you guys are inspiring to me.

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  2. So lush and gorgeous, y'all! I need to catch up on gardening posts but we spent 10 days in Florida so I'm working on those posts first. We're having rain this week in the garden so not as much adventuring out at the moment.

    Happy June! And Solstice!

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    1. That sounds fabulous!! We are sure everything is lush where you are...it feels like the tropics here in Ohio!

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  3. Glad to see all is well. Our older wildflower areas are getting better established, and Bill has started more. But we spread a lot of milkweed seed last fall and nothing came up. Disappointing. There's always next year!

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    1. Hey you! Great to hear all is well in your wildflower meadows. The milkweed seed might have been eaten by the milkweed bugs. We didn't realize how frequently that happens till we had lots not germinate. Make sure to collect before the pods open then you are all good!

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