Message in a Milkweed

Landscaping with Native Plants https://www.lcfpd.org/calendar/landscaping-with-native-plants20240730/

They are making our yard smell absolutely wonderful right now!

To a monarch butterfly, a manicured lawn without milkweed may as well be a food desert. 😢

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗸𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 (𝘈𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘱.) are irreplaceable Prairie State species. These native plants reach 1–4 feet tall, have soft stems and grow back each spring. Their horn-shaped seedpods contain flat, brown seeds that float on the wind using white floss.

Monarch butterflies only lay eggs on milkweeds. Their caterpillars, or larvae, only eat milkweed leaves. Monarch populations have suffered steep drops and fluctuations since the 1990s, around when Upper Midwestern farmers began planting herbicide-tolerant crops. Planting milkweed in your home landscape provides a habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

📚 Read more:
🌱 Visit LCFPD.org/plant-sale to purchase milkweeds for your home.

Got aphids on your Milkweed? Try not to panic! Although their teeming numbers can look alarming, an established Milkweed plant will not die from their damage. If you have a young plant that looks to be suffering, employ the "two finger method" and squish 'em! If you'd prefer a more hands-off approach, frequently shaking the plant stems or spraying the Milkweed leaves with a strong blast of water to dislodge the aphids can help reduce their populations during the growing season. The silver lining: these "icky" bugs are a favorite snack for many birds and fireflies!

😍

Drops in temperature and daylight signal plants and animals to prepare for winter. Some wildlife, particularly mice, find refuge in homes, garages or other buildings where they may not be wanted. 🐁

Unfortunately, many conventional pest control methods have a cost beyond the targeted pest. 𝗥𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻, cause secondary poisoning when another animal consumes a poisoned rodent. Poison typically doesn't kill rodents instantly, but it does make them an easy target for predators. From there, poison can spread throughout the food web.

Unwanted visitors can be controlled more humanely and without harming other wildlife via products that use instant mechanisms or even a jolt of deadly electricity. Glue traps don't fall into this group since they don't act instantly. Regularly checked live traps are also an option. 🪤

Exclusion is another useful option. Walk the perimeter of your home and fix any noticeable exterior cracks or holes. You can place steel wool in openings, as well. Mice can squeeze through holes just a quarter of an inch wide—about the width of a pencil. ✏️

Along with making informed pest control decisions, sharing this information with others can make a difference for animals in your area.

Happy .

I don’t usually walk in Independence Grove because I can’t bring a dog and it’s usually part of my bike route, but walking with my hands free means I get to pet fuzzy grasses and squish juniper berries in my fingers… and they smell good 😁.

Color season for the aspens😍

Walking into fall on this beautiful day! Got three dogs walked and two more preserves off the lists, Nippersink and Grant Woods. I love the sumac and aster in this light! No Milkweed in Grant Woods anymore, but it was still fun to find the spot!!! Thank you for playing!!!

Started working on our Hike Lake County challenge today. Did our wildcard in Ethel Woods/Raven Woods. No Milkweed living there anymore🙂. Fun to play the game on the hunting end!

This is it! The final Milkweed planting of 2023! Many thanks to our other wind chimes winner for this fun clue…

I’m hanging at the start—
Where the gravel path does part,
In 3 directions, south, east and west
May your seeking skills be at their best.

Super excited to share that the adventure continues thanks to one of our wind chimes winners! She’s hung a Milkweed for your hunting pleasure at Ethel’s woods. Happy hiking!

“New” paper for our opening project made from last year’s scraps. As my students would say, “This is very satisfying.”

Grateful for the participation in the giveaway on Gram. Winners have been announced. I’m looking forward to them hiding the last two 2023 Milkweeds😁

It’s that time!!! These wind chimes could be yours. Details on the Gram

Yay! I can officially say it’s milkweed season. Found a few patches of milkweeds ahead of the one on my yard. This means it’s time to schedule a giveaway! Details of how to participate will be posted this Friday, June 30! (A special day for me and my oldest child sounds like a good day to honer with presents😉) Drawing will be Sunday, July 2. This is fun!!!

Starting an inventory update. Happy for the chance to see the green on the green trail at Ray Lake and some of the white popping up against a blue sky before the clouds rolled back in.

Lakewood was the first Lake County forest preserve I ever visited. I remember my first hike was on a hot and humid day in 1985, when pretty much everything was taller than me. #24 #24 From 2022 From 2022 #25 1 mile loop on Millennium Trail East #25 is on a trail aptly named 1mile loop off of the Millennium Trail, East It's accessible from the main lots or the winter activity lot.

Lakewood and Millennium Trail Lakewood was the first Lake County forest preserve I ever visited. I remember my first hike was on a hot and humid day in 1985, when pretty much everything was taller than me. #24 #24 From 2022 Fro…

Pink on Pink. These milkweeds are getting a workout in on Old School's pink, exercise trail!

Old School Pink on Pink. These milkweeds are getting a workout in on Old School’s pink, exercise trail! #21 #22 #23

I am hoping these expertly planted Milkweeds survived the storm that came through on their first night in the wild!

Hastings Lake I am hoping these expertly planted Milkweeds survived the storm that came through on their first night in the wild! #20 Creeky #20 Creeky #19

There's no place like home. While this project has allowed me to fall in love all of the Lake County Forest Preserves, I think Rollins will always feel like home, where it all started.

Rollins Savanna There’s no place like home. While this project has allowed me to fall in love all of the Lake County Forest Preserves, I think Rollins will always feel like home, where it all started. #18 #1…

The milkweeds at Raven Glen do not have a paper crane friend to hang out with this year, but they do have a rock art neighbor. I think this place feels loved.

Raven Glen The milkweeds at Raven Glen do not have a paper crane friend to hang out with this year, but they do have a rock art neighbor. I think this place feels loved. #14 coniferous sentinel #14 coniferous…

"The great naturalist John Muir keenly observed, 'I only went out for a walk and … going out, I found, was really going in.' Has anyone ever emerged from ambling through nature for an hour and regretted their improved state of being? Perhaps this is what that dedicated walker Henry David Thoreau was referring to when he wrote, 'I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees. So the secret is out there. It’s under the leaves on the trail. It’s right there on the sidewalk. Spring has sprung. Lace up."

- McCarthy, A. (2023, March 25). Whatever the Problem, It’s Probably Solved by Walking - The New York Times

It SOUNDED like spring yesterday. The chorus frogs were SWEARING that warm weather is almost here!

Pine Dunes It SOUNDED like spring yesterday. The chorus frogs were SWEARING that warm weather is almost here! #11 Pine View #11 Pine View #12 Junction Overlook #12 Junction Overlook #13 Bridged #13 Bridged