This weekend, we received a helluva cold front. The temperatures dropped down into the 40s and 30s. It was very cold, I would even say frigid. And in spite of that cold, the Asters, and the Maximilian Sunflowers, and even some Milkweed are still going strong. Tiny Heath Asters are poking their little yellow and white heads up through the grass, and the larger golden Asters have about a 4th of their blooms intact swaying in the wind. The Maximilian Sunflowers are going strong, like nothing ever happened. This is good news. I thought the Heath Asters had died back permanently. But they were just dormant, waiting for cooler soil temperatures, and wetter weather.
The Sumac has turned colors. The velvety fruits a deep wine red, clustered and crowning the top of the plant, while blood red leaves make for an eye catching display amidst the olive drab cedars, and the dry, golden grasses.
Many of the trees are loosing more leaves. I say more because, the trees lost so many leaves during the drought, with the Death Valley Temperatures. I expect to see a lot of trees with cankers next year, and most of those to be dead, later in the season, if not the following year. If we receive a lot of rain this season, some may die in the winter due to fungal infection. A sort of sooner, rather than later, type scenario.
Many of our birds have already migrated. Like the spring emergence, everything was off. Even the Grackles and Cow Birds were converging a month ago, lining our power-lines like ornithological extras to some Hitchcock remake. Some migrated away with the last heat wave. A week of unexpected temperatures that hit at least 104 every day, just before the first significant rains fell.
That being said, we have received significant rain. Enough to lift the burn ban in some places. Though I am not sure I would trust it. So many places and things are still dry to the bone. At least it doesn't smell like kindling now, when I walk outside my front door. I suppose that ought to be worth something.
All this time, the kids and I have been looking for Monarch Butterflies. We should be in the peak right now. Yesterday we visited a couple of lakes and ponds and we literally saw none. We did see some butterflies. We saw Buckeyes and Pink-edged Sulphurs, Dainty Sulphurs, and Hackberry Emperors. We saw Gulf Fritillaries, but no Monarchs.
We finally saw two on a small reserve that was covered with sunflowers. 2.
I cannot imagine a way to convey to the reader how off that it is. Under normal circumstances, in places with only a few migrating monarchs, we might see 10, and in others in excess of 50. And this will be in one spot, in a 10 minute count, over a 1/4 of an acre or less. Sometimes we count that many on a single row of Asters and Sunflowers.
But in driving around yesterday, in the sun, from morning til late after noon, in rural areas and in town, we saw 2. And that might have been the same butterfly going by us twice.
I found this blog entry on the Monarch Watch Website:
The low number of nectar sources that will be available to monarchs moving through the lower Midwest in September is a concern. Some fall flowers have already bloomed, some have died and many of the others are stunted and just barely alive. There will be nectar but it will be harder for the monarchs to find. Monarch Watch Blog
This is true. The boneset was already spent, as was it's close relative the Ironweed. Antelopehorn Milkweed rebloomed with the rain, but that may have been too late in the game for the butterflies to find and utilize. We have lots of Goldenrod, but it bloomed early and is now dying, when it should be peaking. The biggest blooms going on are the Maximilian Sunflowers and the Asters. In the past, I have seen Monarchs on those flowers, but I wonder if this year's crop were strong enough to fly through the extended reach of the drought. That perhaps there simply wasn't enough food to fuel their Journey here in the South.
This July Entry from the Monarch Watch Blog says a lot. Note again reports in this blog that echo mine, regarding Season Creep and it's affect on Wildlife [in this case Monarchs].
Not only has it been warm, it’s been hot and dry – perhaps too hot and dry for good monarch reproduction. And, then there are the milkweeds and nectar plants to consider. Plants grew rapidly this spring with many species blooming 10-30 days earlier than normal. Plants that typically flower in the fall began blooming in June and reports continue of water stressed plants blooming early. Milkweeds were no exception with flowering being earlier almost everywhere, raising the question as to what their condition they will be in the last week of July and the first week of August when most of the eggs are laid that produce the migratory generation. If the milkweeds are past their prime, and are senescing, will this diminish the size of the last generation? Monarch Watch Blog, July 2012
In the Southern U. S. Monarchs had this to migrate through, for 2 years in a row.
See also: Still More Untimely Blooms.
More Untimely Blooms.
It's Beautiful and All Wrong.
Another Unseasonably Warm Day.
The Monarch Watch Blog Entry goes on to report:
There are also questions as to whether large numbers of monarchs overshot (that is, flew beyond) the limits of milkweed. Unprecedented numbers of monarchs have been reported from the Prairie Provinces of Canada where milkweeds are scarce, from the Maritime Provinces where monarchs are usually few, and even from Newfoundland, an area with virtually no milkweed ibid.
Is this due to the unnatural warmth? Were the butterflies confused because these areas were warmer than usual, fooling the insects into moving much further North than normal?
I include these links so you can see how bizarre it has been in Oklahoma weather-wise, and read about the early bloom and seeding of flowers due to the shifts in the seasons. It's not just the drought that is affecting the Monarchs. It's Season Creep and loss of forage, and of course the use of Pesticides on crops and lawns. Consider that NeoNicotinoids were formulated for use against members of the Lepidoptera Order which is Butterflies and Moths. This is in addition to the use of GMO-Corn saturated with BT, which has been associated with a drop in butterfly larvae as well.
Another entry states:
What a spring it’s been – the warmest in 117 years of record keeping and the warmest 12 months ever recorded in the United States. In response to the warm conditions the plants and insects have made early appearances. Some plants bloomed 6 weeks early, others a more modest 2 weeks. Most insects appear to have kept pace including monarchs that arrived 2-3 weeks early over most of the northern breeding range – raising the possibility of a large fall migration – maybe the last big migration this decade. Monarch Watch Blog 12 June 2012
Let that last part sink in:
...Maybe the last big migration of this decade.
Sometimes the cultural selfishness of this country disgusts me beyond hope. Like the new hobby bee keepers who keep honey bees, to conserve them, fellow citizens are gathering and raising Monarch larvae for the same reason. So that we have any. When we have to go outside to gather butterfly larvae, in order to save them, this should be a wake up call.
Someone suggested to me that we need an APP on phones that show us who manufactured or had a hand in manufacturing what, so we could avoid buying food and other items from companies that are destroying our environment. Given the incredible response to one state trying to label GMO foods, I can see that we desperately need such software and lists. And I found just such an app.
Check out the NonGMO Shopping guide.
I am depending upon readers to tell me whether what their thoughts are on this list/organization.
We cannot get these corporations out of our government. We cannot get their money out of our elections, so I guess it's time we find a way to stop providing them with money at all.
Hobby Lobby and Chick Filet are easy targets. Just don't go there. But these other companies like Monsanto and Bayer--they are more difficult to hit in the pocket book because they have a hand in manufacturing so many different things.
Difficult but not impossible.
The Non-GMO Shopping Guide listed 4 simple tips to avoiding GMOs:
1. Buy Certified Organic foods.
2. Look for nonGMO verified Seals.
3. Avoid at-risk ingredients such as: Corn, Canola, Soy, Cottonseed, and sugar from Sugar beets. {that being said there are more than these top crops: Alfalfa, Chicory, Flax, Papaya, Plum, Potato, Rice, Squash, Tobacco, Tomatoes too!} Watch that PLU code. If it starts with an 8, it's a GMO.
4. This site provides a shopping guide. {I haven't used it, tell me what you think!--My complaint is that they want you to sign up to access it. }
I highly recommend this Mojo Story on GMOs.
Some of us cannot afford to live on our paychecks and buy all organic. But there are other things we can do.
1. Stop buying their chemicals to put on our lawns and gardens. There are overlaps between companies that make GMOs and Pesticides and Herbicides. Is your Garden Pesticide Killing Bees {and everything else?}
2. Buy organic and nonGMO every chance you get. Like any new habit, start small and work your way to more such purchases.
3. Grow more of your own food if you can or barter with someone who does which can be a neighbor, Food Coop, or local farmer. Easiest foods to grow: Potatoes, Tomatoes, Beans, Herbs, and Greens.
4. Vote early and often.
5. Plant pollinator islands--even if it's just milkweed in a big pot on your balcony.
When buying plants, ask if they have been treated with systemic pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, which persist in plant tissues and can harm or kill insects that feed on them. Some nurseries use these practices to produce unblemished plants for sale. Bring Back the Pollinators
6. Adopt aspects of Guerrilla Gardening--Which is to say, make seed balls with local, native plant seeds and then distribute freely on road sides and in fields and empty lots. Don't know what to buy for your area? Visit this site for more information about Native Plants for your region.
7. Buy your seeds from organic and pesticide and GMO free venders such as Seed Savers or Bakers Seeds.
8. Write your elected representative and let them know you want your food labeled, so you can decide whether or not to buy GMO foods.
9. Write your grocery manager and let him or her also know, you want access to labeled, certified, non-GMOs. Be sure and give them suggestions if you have some specific product in mind.
10. Reward business that provide nonGMO options by shopping there.
11. Look at PLU codes on fruit and veggies: According to Natural News, if the 4 digit PLU code starts with 9, then it's organic, if it starts with an 8, it's a GMO. And...
Conventionally grown produce has a 0 for the first digit, but usually the 0 is dropped. So most conventionally grown produce will actually have only 4 digits on the PLU tag if you don't see a 0 at the beginning. The 8 gives you the worst of two worlds, GMO and heavy chemical spraying! Natural News
12. Recycle, Re-use, Reduce.
13. Plan your trips and/or carpool. Season creep is the direct affect of Global Climate change. Lowering your carbon footprint helps mitigate these changes.
14. Even if you are like me, and cannot afford the expense of "energy efficient" appliances, you can still replace your lightbulbs and weatherize your home for the winter.
15. Help others make small changes that help our environment. Sometimes all someone might need is a bit of advice and encouragement.
16. Talk to your local plant nursery about their use of Pesticides, herbicides and GMO seeds. Let them know what you want to buy, so they can provide it.
In the past, we could just buy things. We never had to think about where those things came from, or the circumstances that lead to their manufacture or sale. Those days are over. Corporations have completely corrupted our entire system of politics and law-making. And the only way to fight back is with the one thing we have left. Our Buying Power.
We can still fight with votes and letter writing, but the best way to hit a business is in the pocket book. And if we can hit these corporations in the pocket book, in the legislature, and with new labeling laws simultaneously, we can make great things happen.
Otherwise, this sad, pathetic cluster of butterflies, may very well be, the last big migration of this decade. All because we were too lazy to make simple changes to preserve their forage, and give them access to food that isn't poisoned. Just like our bees and our birds. And in the end, just like us.
Note to readers: My positions taken in this piece do not necessarily reflect the feelings or politics of Monarch Watch. I have no association with that organization other than I use them as a resource online, for writing about a shared passion: Monarch Butterflies.
This fall season, I have counted about 18 Monarch Butterflies total, while driving throughout the Central Oklahoma Region. That covers about 5 Counties. This is from late August til the present, in the year 2012. Hopefully they are just hiding from me personally.