Aidpage

Fyi - ours grew to be an average of 5-8 feet tall and were very top heavy.

It would probably be a good ideat to tie them off to keep them from sagging.

They are just like normal sunflowers as they thrive in full sun and need very little water.

you can harvest seed much like a normal sunflower but the flower head is incredibly sharp

and pointy. Gloves are a must. "found this out the hard way" :)

Look for a plant called "Tithonia" or Mexican Sunflower.

I have had great sucess attracting butterflies and

hummingbirds with them

try here, it's a start. maybe they can point you in the right direction

http://www.habitat-eldorado.org/

Phone: (870) 310-8157

calexander@edchabitat.com

The most familiar form, and well known form of butterfly in North America is the Monarch butterfly. Monarch's are somewhat large for a butterfly, with a wingspan of about 4 inches, with charming ginger, black, and colorless coloring on their wings - Monarchs are regularly highly required after by butterfly enthusiasts and photographers alike.

Scientists deem the Monarch butterflies are the only family of insects that actually migrate. As chill approaches in colder climates, the Monarch starts to dense down and reproduction stops. Over the summer, they amass fat coffers in their stomach in preparation for the chill.

As temperatures drop, Monarchs originate to journey south for the chill. In the west they lean to trek south of the Rocky Mountains. Throughout the U.S., they move to Florida, Texas and Mexico. Canadian and Northwest American Monarch butterflies voyage south to the coast of California and down to Southern California. The migration voided is very amazing considering these are such small insects. Unbelievably, once the endure warms up again, the Monarch will replace north to the literal same locations where they originally migrated from. While migrating, Monarchs are known to voyage as abstain as 30 miles per hour. Somehow, those little wings work miracles.

A Journey of Life

The migration of the Monarch is not just a way to diversion from the cold of coldness. These butterflies have actually incorporated the migration into the course of their life rotation. As these butterflies travel south, they also break to mate and lay eggs on milkweed plants along the way. During wandering, the adult butterflies end last during the jaunt. Eventually, after only a few years, childish butterflies are born and meet with the open population of butterflies. This means that the migration patterns of the monarch are also part of their reproduction rotation, and add to their population.

The Life Cycled of the Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch is from the species Lepidoptera, with a very unique life round. Monarches amaze their lives as tiny eggs, which eventually inlay into butterfly larvae. The first stage of the butterfly's life is a birth as a caterpillar. The caterpillar eats a tremendous total of food relative to its body magnitude, and eventually finds a tree where it attaches and forms a chrysalis. Within this chrysalis, the caterpillar transforms itself into the stunningly charming Monarch butterfly. It is easy to understand why, so many traditions and cultures across the world welcome the Monarch butterfly as an emblem of excessive transformation and change from something secular and objects into something spiritual and boundless. It is no surprise that Greek culture has embraced the butterfly as a symbol of the soul.

The Monarch butterfly has captured the imagination and worship of butterfly enthusiasts around the world.

The sizable maturity of people, as far as I know, find exquisite flora to have a certain aesthetic profit. I find it very enjoyable to just sit and mind the plants grow in a stunning patch. The only unexciting thing about scrutiny a patch, which is perhaps what may be the very order which I find so relaxing, is the ennui of the undivided thing. There is very no action; but then again, when you are annoying to relax, who desires action? The belief plot would be a lovely backyard with just enough action on which to focus, but lacking enough action to eliminate the relaxing aspect of this non-activity. This is where the butterfly patch comes into play.

I would guess that everybody who enjoys looking at a plot also enjoys study butterflies go about their tasks in a backyard just as much, if not more. Butterflies are gorgeous, innocuous, and add a certain fortunate and lively look to just about any backyard. The only thing stopping anybody from spiraling his or her backyard into a butterfly patch is doubtless the actuality that he or she does not know how to do it. Well, my friends, it is easier than you probably would have thought.

The first thing to respect is where to commence your backyard if you do not already have an open plot. It is best to inception your butterfly patch in a place that already has flora, since the other plants will help the butterflies find your butterfly shelter. If, however, your butterfly backyard is the most gorgeous plot in the world, but it is in the interior of a vast grassy tackle, there will be no analyze for any butterflies to be in the neighborhood, and will hence not be able to find your patch. Therefore, it is forever best to open your butterfly patch in a place where there are plants already.

A butterfly patch should consist of a number of plants and flora that invite butterflies. These plants and flora should be a category of insignia and sizes. Lilacs and the like are good for attracting butterflies. The plants should be colorful, cheerful, and perfumed and should, if viable, inhibit some separate of food for the butterflies. These kinds of flora will help magnetize the butterflies and give them a mind to call your backyard home. Butterfly Milkweed is great for attracting butterflies, since it has light ginger flowers, but more importantly, since it will impart food for the caterpillars. If there are no caterpillars, there will be no butterflies, so custody the caterpillars glad is a good thing. You can ask a resident gardener or repress out examine online which flowers that attract butterflies will flourish in your particular climate.

Ideally, your butterfly garden will have the ability to tint all time long. There are many flowers and plants which will bestow food for the butterflies and caterpillars throughout the bounce, summer, and reduction. For these too, you should each seek or curb with a narrow landscaper to see which flowers will bloom in the different seasons in your particular climate.

Your butterfly garden will must some type of butterfly shelter and resting place for your winged friends. This should be a place where the butterflies and caterpillars will be able to rest and sojourn nontoxic when the rain and cold come. There should be some boring rocks in your garden also where the butterflies can soak up the sun. It would really be perfection if the rocks had small indentations or craters in them where water could assume, thus bountiful the butterflies a place to cocktail. You should also have a small log mint where the butterflies could go for shelter.

There are butterfly shelters that you could buy from a pile, but I would endorse against these butterfly shelters. The wits is basically that the butterfly shelter will probably become a wasp shelter before long, which will only give the butterflies intention to continue away. Nobody desires to mess with a wasp.

The last and most important thing you will ought to overall your butterfly garden is a good comfortable place for you to sit down and watch your butterfly garden "in action." After all the hard work that you put into it, you indeed want the butterflies to have the port that you have produced for them, but you openly also want to be able to enjoy it manually. After all, let's be honest about it, you may feeling butterflies, but the basis for your butterfly garden is for you to be able to enjoy it.

With many species becoming extinct and lots others depleted because of our short sighted and selfish style of living, conservation is one thing that all of us need to pay attention to. Butterflies, with their varied range of bright colors attract most of us. The sad part, however, is that many species of butterflies are fast approaching extinction. Their natural habitat is either being destroyed or is not being favored by gardeners. Butterflies need specific plants and flowers as well as an environment congenial to laying eggs to thrive.

Those interested in providing an environment which will encourage butterflies, for conservation as well as enjoying seeing myriads of colors that butterflies come in, can make a small contribution by making a butterfly garden. Like any other garden, butterfly garden requires a little bit of effort, a lot of care, and a fair amount of knowledge about the plants to choose from.

Making a butterfly garden will add to the global conservation effort along with beautifying the garden and make it more aromatic. There are hundreds of plants and flowers that will attract butterflies and contrary to popular belief, shrubs and bushes too play an important part in butterfly gardens. The icing on the cake is that it will provide lots of avenues for some exotic photography too.

Autumn Sage, Marigolds, Sweet Pepperbush and Phlox are the most popular plants but the list is long. Plants like Morning Glory and Butterfly Bush, also known as Buddleia, too catch the attention of butterflies. Among shrubs and bushes one can choose New Jersey Tea Tree and/or the Hawthorn Bush. Wildflowers, like Spearmint, Ironweed or Thistles also encourage butterflies.

Once the choice is made one has simply to consider carefully as to where to plant them for maximum benefit. With this half the job is over, one can turn to taking care of the plants and the butterfly population that they will encourage.

Insects like, spiders, ants, flies, wasps, and birds are dangerous for butterflies. The difficult part is that one cannot use pesticides indiscriminately to kill these insects as pesticides are harmful to caterpillars, larvae, and butterflies. The blood-sucking insects, aphids, cannot be controlled by pesticides. It is a tricky situation but nature provides answers where human efforts become unviable. Whereas other insects can be controlled by the use of traps, the natural way to control aphids is to release ladybugs and other bugs that do not harm butterflies. Sometimes a simple spray of water on aphid infected plants will do the job.

Butterflies are even attracted by what we call garden snacks and mashed up fruits like watermelon, bananas, and oranges too will help with making the garden more conducive to butterfly population.

One need not worry that something wrong is being done by increasing the population of the butterflies in this manner. Mother Nature has its own logic and balances every thing in its own way. Butterflies too are vulnerable to disease and viruses.

Butterflies are insects belonging to one of two families: Hesperioidea or Papilionoidea. They fall into the order Lepidoptera and are closely related to the common moth. In fact, there is even a type of butterfly called The American Butterfly Moth which fits into both categories (depending on who you ask.)

Butterflies are noted first and foremost for their incredible lifecycle process: they begin life as larval caterpillars, cocooning themselves once they reach maturity and beginning a metamorphic transformation that results into the winged, adult form.

The simple grace and erratic movements of butterflies, coupled with the menagerie of colors sported on their wings have enchanted people since the beginning of time. Butterfly hobbyists range from collectors, who preserve the insects in glass cases to admire, to photographers, who add their own artistic, less macabre spin to the hobby, as well as painters and simple watchers. Steven Albaranes is one of the aforementioned butterfly painters. Philip Greenspun, another artistic butterfly enthusiast, maintains a gallery of beautiful photographs online, too.

The name Butterfly comes from the old English term buttorfleoge, but the Germanic word, milchdieb, provides a bit more insight into where the word comes from. Butterflies, it seems, were thought to pilfer diary products. (Milchdieb literally means Milk Thief. Where the idea of milk-stealing butterflies comes from is unknown, but it has also been suggested that butterflies may have gotten their reputation from the way their excrement (vaguely) resembles butter. Clearly, certain medieval scientists needed access to higher quality dairy.

Among the insect races, butterflies are the kings of color: the hundreds of species each possess an individual style of wing, and each specific butterfly has its own personal markings on its wings. The Luna Moth (which, I don't care what anyone says, is a butterfly) soars among the flowers in shades of brilliant green, while the Blue Morpho adds a sharp neon contrast to the plans it subsists on. Common Jezebels are yellow and red, Speckled Woods are a deep amber color, and the Metalmarks of North America are bedecked in wings of black and gold.

It is common knowledge that butterflies eat pollen and drink nectar, but not nearly as many people are aware that these colorful insectsalso eat such unsavories as dung, rotting treebark and fruits, and even the dissolved minerals found in wet sand and dirt. (Starting to think twice about letting one land on you?) Butterflies detect such potential meals with their scent-sensitive antennae, which are actually covered in microscopic burrs that catch scent particles for the butterfly to inspect.

Butterflies have also come to be a dominant, though sometimes cliched force in the world of poetry. The famous Chinese poet Chuang-Tse used butterflies to emphasize the ephemeral nature of existence (and to thoroughly confuse a western audience, to which he was completely oblivious.

The poem in question reads:

I dreamt I was a butterfly. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming.
But when I woke, I was I and not a butterfly.
Was I dreaming that I was the butterfly,
Or was the butterfly dreaming that it was me?

Makes you think, eh?

The fall migration of Monarch butterflies is one of those fascinating natural mysteries to which human beings still do not have any answers. For centuries, the black and orange Monarchs have been great winter attractions in the Californian and Mexican regions. However, no one had any clue to this huge influx of Monarch butterflies in these regions.

In 1937, part of this mystery was unfolded through the attempts of a researcher named F. A. Urquhart; he began putting wing tags on the butterflies in order to track their origins and whereabouts. His endeavors bore results and it was brought to light that the Monarch butterflies were original natives of the northern regions. The winged beauties soared and glided in the sunlit skies across USA from March through October. Come winter, and they would migrate to the warmer regions southwards to avoid the cold winds, returning to their summer grounds in the wake of spring.

The migration and the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly continue to puzzle human beings. Studies have established that a Monarch butterfly completes a round trip only once in its entire life cycle. With an average life span of about 6-8 weeks (of one generation through the various stages - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly), the migration chapter is not covered in a single generation. In fact, it is the fourth generation Monarch butterflies that take the long flights (ranging to some 1800-2500 miles) from their summer homes to their winter roosting spots traversing many mountains and forests in their way.

The first three generations complete their life cycles in the northern regions. The fourth generation butterflies attain maturity at the onset of Fall. These adults are slightly different from the summer adults; they do not mate rather take to flight to keep warm. Monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the Oyamel fir trees of Mexico and the ones west of the Rockies migrate to the eucalyptus trees of Pacific Grove and surrounding areas in southern California. The fall generation Monarchs hibernate in their warm nesting grounds of Mexico and southern California until the arrival of spring when they wake up to mate and migrate back to the summer homes. There they lay eggs and die.

In spite of the most sincere researching, Monarch butterflies have remained an enigma for humankind. We yet do not have any explanation to how these little winged creatures keep revisiting the same trees year after year and that being fourth generation offsprings!

A great project to teach children to protect and respect nature and to give them a bit of perspective on their own life is to allow them to watch caterpillars turn into butterflies. We have a safe way to do this, without harming the caterpillars or butterflies.

Once you have created a successful butterfly garden,for this project, be sure to plant a few of the smaller host plants (like Asclepias) in smaller pots which you can move and remove easy within your butterfly garden. Once your plants are fairly established and beginning to flower, you can begin the first stage of this project.

Watch closely for butterflies to become interested in these host plants. Remember, butterflies do not feed from the host plants, they lay their eggs on them and caterpillars feed from them. You may notice butterflies landing on the host plants and staying for a moment or two. They are, most likely, laying their eggs. Once you see this happen, watch for caterpillars to begin to emerge in a few days (3-5 days, usually).

You will know caterpillars have emerged when you begin to see your host plants begin munched on. Leave them undisturbed until they begin to get fat (fatter than the width of an average pencil and longer than 2 inches) which usually takes about a week and a half. Once they get big enough, take a leaf and gently transfer them from the plant they are on to one of your potted host plants.

Then, take a square of fine wire netting (or screen) a few inches taller than the plant and pot combined but no wider than the top of the pot (the area of soil) and roll it to create a cone shape. Take some bread twist ties (or soft wire) and secure the shape.

Cut the bottom of the wire cone (the large end NOT the small end) so that you can fit it tightly in the soil near the edges of the pot and then simply cover the plant with the caterpillar with the cone and secure it by twisting the cone slightly into the soil.

Put the pot with the cone over it in a shaded area where it is easily visible by you and your child but still remains mainly undisturbed and comfortable. As well, do not put it them in a high traffic area or where sounds or vibrations may disturb it. A nice quiet place is the best place to watch your caterpillar turn into a butterfly.

Soon, your caterpillar will begin to attach to either the plant or the screen and hang upside down, preparing for the big change. Within the next 24 hours, the caterpillar will be secure in the chrysalis stage for about ten days.

The chrysalis stays about the same for about a week and there is really not much to see, at this point. During this time, you will want to open up your cone in preparation for a better view and release of your butterfly. You can do this by either opening up your twist ties or cutting the screen to open it. Be sure to be very careful, to keep from disturbing the chrysalis, remember that your future butterfly is alive and growing, at this stage.

After about a week, the color of the chrysalis will turn dark. Then, in the next couple of days, you may begin to see a bit of murky color from the butterfly wings. When this happens, watch closely because you may have a butterfly within the day or even a couple of hours.

As the butterfly emerges, you will begin to see movement. The chrysalis will break open and a butterfly will emerge. However, it takes some time for the butterfly to get its blood pumping enough to fly away so you will have some time to watch the transformation which is quite incredible. Once your butterfly flies away, don't worry, if you have provided an adequate food supply in your garden, it will be back.

A great project to teach children to protect and respect nature and to give them a bit of perspective on their own life is to allow them to watch caterpillars turn into butterflies. We have a safe way to do this, without harming the caterpillars or butterflies.

Once you have created a successful butterfly garden,for this project, be sure to plant a few of the smaller host plants (like Asclepias) in smaller pots which you can move and remove easy within your butterfly garden. Once your plants are fairly established and beginning to flower, you can begin the first stage of this project.

Watch closely for butterflies to become interested in these host plants. Remember, butterflies do not feed from the host plants, they lay their eggs on them and caterpillars feed from them. You may notice butterflies landing on the host plants and staying for a moment or two. They are, most likely, laying their eggs. Once you see this happen, watch for caterpillars to begin to emerge in a few days (3-5 days, usually).

You will know caterpillars have emerged when you begin to see your host plants begin munched on. Leave them undisturbed until they begin to get fat (fatter than the width of an average pencil and longer than 2 inches) which usually takes about a week and a half. Once they get big enough, take a leaf and gently transfer them from the plant they are on to one of your potted host plants.

Then, take a square of fine wire netting (or screen) a few inches taller than the plant and pot combined but no wider than the top of the pot (the area of soil) and roll it to create a cone shape. Take some bread twist ties (or soft wire) and secure the shape.

Cut the bottom of the wire cone (the large end NOT the small end) so that you can fit it tightly in the soil near the edges of the pot and then simply cover the plant with the caterpillar with the cone and secure it by twisting the cone slightly into the soil.

Put the pot with the cone over it in a shaded area where it is easily visible by you and your child but still remains mainly undisturbed and comfortable. As well, do not put it them in a high traffic area or where sounds or vibrations may disturb it. A nice quiet place is the best place to watch your caterpillar turn into a butterfly.

Soon, your caterpillar will begin to attach to either the plant or the screen and hang upside down, preparing for the big change. Within the next 24 hours, the caterpillar will be secure in the chrysalis stage for about ten days.

The chrysalis stays about the same for about a week and there is really not much to see, at this point. During this time, you will want to open up your cone in preparation for a better view and release of your butterfly. You can do this by either opening up your twist ties or cutting the screen to open it. Be sure to be very careful, to keep from disturbing the chrysalis, remember that your future butterfly is alive and growing, at this stage.

After about a week, the color of the chrysalis will turn dark. Then, in the next couple of days, you may begin to see a bit of murky color from the butterfly wings. When this happens, watch closely because you may have a butterfly within the day or even a couple of hours.

As the butterfly emerges, you will begin to see movement. The chrysalis will break open and a butterfly will emerge. However, it takes some time for the butterfly to get its blood pumping enough to fly away so you will have some time to watch the transformation which is quite incredible. Once your butterfly flies away, don't worry, if you have provided an adequate food supply in your garden, it will be back.

Free Milkweed seed

The Butterfly Garden Store

With many species becoming extinct and lots others depleted because of our short sighted and selfish style of living, conservation is one thing that all of us need to pay attention to. Butterflies, with their varied range of bright colors attract most of us. The sad part, however, is that many species of butterflies are fast approaching extinction. Their natural habitat is either being destroyed or is not being favored by gardeners. Butterflies need specific plants and flowers as well as an environment congenial to laying eggs to thrive.

Visit our free milkweed site to get started !

Those interested in providing an environment which will encourage butterflies, for conservation as well as enjoying seeing myriads of colors that butterflies come in, can make a small contribution by making a butterfly garden. Like any other garden, butterfly garden requires a little bit of effort, a lot of care, and a fair amount of knowledge about the plants to choose from.

Making a butterfly garden will add to the global conservation effort along with beautifying the garden and make it more aromatic. There are hundreds of plants and flowers that will attract butterflies and contrary to popular belief, shrubs and bushes too play an important part in butterfly gardens. The icing on the cake is that it will provide lots of avenues for some exotic photography too.

Autumn Sage, Marigolds, Sweet Pepperbush and Phlox are the most popular plants but the list is long. Plants like Morning Glory and Butterfly Bush, also known as Buddleia, too catch the attention of butterflies. Among shrubs and bushes one can choose New Jersey Tea Tree and/or the Hawthorn Bush. Wildflowers, like Spearmint, Ironweed or Thistles also encourage butterflies.

Once the choice is made one has simply to consider carefully as to where to plant them for maximum benefit. With this half the job is over, one can turn to taking care of the plants and the butterfly population that they will encourage.

Insects like, spiders, ants, flies, wasps, and birds are dangerous for butterflies. The difficult part is that one cannot use pesticides indiscriminately to kill these insects as pesticides are harmful to caterpillars, larvae, and butterflies. The blood-sucking insects, aphids, cannot be controlled by pesticides. It is a tricky situation but nature provides answers where human efforts become unviable. Whereas other insects can be controlled by the use of traps, the natural way to control aphids is to release ladybugs and other bugs that do not harm butterflies. Sometimes a simple spray of water on aphid infected plants will do the job.

Butterflies are even attracted by what we call garden snacks and mashed up fruits like watermelon, bananas, and oranges too will help with making the garden more conducive to butterfly population.

One need not worry that something wrong is being done by increasing the population of the butterflies in this manner. Mother Nature has its own logic and balances every thing in its own way. Butterflies too are vulnerable to disease and viruses.

Visit Southern Indiana Trails

The Butterfly Garden

http://risingup.ning.com/

 We've added a new feature to the website.
"The Rising Up Social Network"
http://risingup.ning.com/

It's kind of like Myspace and facebook.
You can create your own profile, add music, photos or youtube videos.

your not obligated to join, We just hope that if you have something to give back that may help someone else, you can use this platform to get your message across.

Feel free to just look around.



http://risingup.ning.com/

I know the feeling, Trying to sacrifice everything for the kids to get the best education for their future is really taking it's toll.

Everything I try to do just seems to make it worse. All I can do is try to assure you that, if you keep your head up, nothing can bring you down. I usually ride a roller coaster up and down with my emotions. As soon as it looks bright, someone turns out the light.

I try to be possitive about life, It takes a lot of faith to build yourself up but once you do you will find that there is always an upside to the down and realizing the value of the things around you that we take for granted everyday are worth more than you think.

I may be in a financial crisis but I have my health, faith and my wonderful family. To me there is no greater wealth.

I may struggle but I am one of the wealthiest people I know.

I do feel your pain, it can be hard to grast sometimes why you were chosen to struggle so badly. "Why me, why us"

In the end you'll look down from the mountain at what you sacrificed, for yourself and your family and realize it was all worth it in the end. Be strong for each other.

God bless, hope it gets better for ya !!

Tim

Rising Up

You may see me bobbing around in here plugging away at my fundraising efforts and promoting my website "RISING UP" .............. shameless plug.

Anyway, I have built myself up mentally and spiritually to a point where I am going to change my life and the world around me.

The financial situation I am in is staggering right now but I have my family and my friends around me and that makes me the richest person I know.

This website really shows the "real average americans" the people who are hurting the most.

I read here a lot. It has been really helpful and educational. Some people have very unique issues that I have never experienced.

The things that I have tought myself through endless hours of reading and thinking are enough to build up a positive wall against the everyday grind. Feel free to join me in my effort to save the world a little at a time by visiting the site listed above. I can't do it without the input of others.

I'm just one person.

I started the "Rising Up" website to combine some of problems that keep people locked down by the everyday stresses in life. From Anxiety, depression to financial stress. I've tried to create an atmosphere where people can help themselves and also help others to Rise up from things that are holding them down.

All of my life, up until 2004, I dealt with the debilitating effects of social anxiety. I know the effects of the condition and I feel I can really relate to other people who are suffering themselves. I know what it like to think the whole world is watching you and judging you, every minute of everyday. To be so nervous that you can't remember your address or your phone number when someone would ask. In my case, I even have memories of forgetting my children's names. After dealing with it for so long, and finally coming to a decision that I'm not living my life and it's time for a change, I feel that I can give back something if it can help other people. I just want to create a place where people can help each other with all of the problem that I feel are really tied together in some way.

Thanks for your time and I hope you will join our community, if not to help yourself maybe you can inspire someone else by sharing your own experiences.

Thanks and God Bless !

Tim Tanguay

Getting hands-on environmental education back in America's classrooms is an important part of building an environmentally literate citizenry to face the challenges posed in the 21st Century.

The No Child Left Inside Act will provide much-needed new funding to help states provide teacher training and expand high-quality environmental education programs, engaging kids with the great outdoors and fostering a lifelong appreciation of the environment!

Urge Congress to Pass the No Child Left Inside Act

I've set up a new store front to help raise money for our projects.

I have set the pricing as low as possible to help promote it.

Wholesale gifts

All of the funds raised in our effors go to benefit the work we do

for wildlife preservation.

http://spiritwild.fscstore.com

Southern Indiana Trails is taking action to help save the world’s biodiversity. We believe that it is within the hands of our generation to conserve the wonders of life on Earth, for ourselves and for future generations. As a charity, we rely on voluntary support to achieve our mission. Please help us to conserve endangered wildlife and habitats today and for the future.

Please visit our fundraising shopping store by clicking the link below. Feel free to spread the word to your friends who may be interested in shopping online this holiday season.

Thanks you for your support !

 Tim Tanguay