Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

[EdH]

Our first monarch experience was in the Fall of 2005. We had read in "Our State" magazine about the migration over a particular overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Brevard, N.C. and planned a weekend trip around it. There were plenty of waterfalls and hiking trails near our cabin in Dupont State Forest which we enjoyed. When we finally reached the Cherry Cove overlook we found a couple of ladies there who were as eager to share information about the monarchs with us as we were to learn. Turned out that just as we arrived, the monarchs began to fly over - perhaps a hundred in the two hours we were there. The ladies let our granddaughter tag and release one butterfly. We were hooked.

The trip in 2006 was not as fruitful. We went back to the same place about the same weekend, but the ladies weren't there and neither were the monarchs. It was still a fun trip and we enjoyed some of the North Carolina apples and returned to the waterfalls, this time stopping by sliding rock.

This year we tried a new cabin on the other end of the parkway hours from Brevard. We had tracked down one of the ladies by her name tag off a picture we had taken the first year and wrote her. She had replied in an email and we began corresponding on-line. We had planted a swamp milkweed plant very late in the season from a local nursery in Charlotte not expecting to find any caterpillers on it but the week before our trip, we counted a dozen of them on it. On our trip we checked out a place called the Orchard at Altapass where another lady gave us a wonderful demonstration of the monarchs with a few terrariums full of chrysalides and caterpillars in various stages. On Saturday we drove the long trek down the parkway to Cherry Cove and the lady from Brevard was right there waiting for us. There were only a few monarchs that day, but we enjoyed visiting our new friend and mentor. She gave us some milkweed seed pods for planting our own next Spring.

As we left the cabin, we took our granddaughter for one more trip to Brevard since it was a warm sunny day. But as we drove past Grandfather mountain (still 2 hrs from the Cherry Cove overlook) we passed two ladies with butterfly nets. So we stopped to check them out at an overlook called Pilot Ridge. What a great decision that was. It was a long overlook with lots of goldenrod along the edge. These ladies from Tennessee were quite helpful too and even knew our mentor from Brevard. They helped our granddaughter catch with her tiny net, tag and release three monarchs. We stayed there for over an hour and saw a couple hundred fly by us. Later we learned the ladies had counted over a thousand monarchs in the four hours they were there.

We came home fulfilled and eager to see how the caterpillers at home were doing. We ran to the milkweed and found almost all the leaves gone but six caterpillers still there munching on the last few. We took them inside and put them in an old aquarium turned on its side with screen wire over the opening. Then we watched in the next two weeks as all six made their chrysalides and emerge at monarchs. Our friend from Brevard had shared a sheet of tags which we used to tag and release them. Our granddaughter made a powerpoint presentation to her 4th grade class and even took the last monarch to school to show her classmates how to tag and release him.

We have a couple younger granddaughters coming into age to enjoy the monarchs and hope to include them next year. What a delight it has been to meet new friends and learn about these wonderful creatures God put here for us to enjoy. And now we are passing information on to others who want to experience the joy the monarchs have brought us. Thanks to the ladies from Brevard, Tennessee and the Orchard at Altapass for being so helpful and informative. We now have a family tradition that I hope will last my lifetime and beyond.

EdH from Charlotte, NC

[Mona Miller]

Your adventures sound incredible. I've never driven along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I have heard stories of people who have. Good luck, next year.

I have been to Cape May and attended the tagging at the Lighthouse:
http://rkwalton.com/mon.html
We went a little late in the season on a field trip for my Birds of Prey class. I didn't see Monarchs in huge numbers, but I did see a constant stream of them coming around the point, mostly in single file.

I have also been to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Assateague Island, Virginia
http://rkwalton.com/mon.html
In 2002, I got to help Denise Gibbs for 2 weeks doing the Monarch survey there. A once in a lifetime treat.

[tarheel]

My love for Monarchs began on a trip to Boone, NC & a visit to the Orchard at Altapass,where I met a wonderful lady, she was known as the Butterfly Lady, a name which has become my moniker over the past 8-9 years in my town. I raise Monarchs, BStails, Tiger Stails, & am giving a try at the Luna Moth for the first time this year. I think the lady at the Orchard was Judy Carson, & she & I talked about butterflies in general, & I returned home and found that milkweed was not plentiful, or even 'locate-able' in our immediate area. By now I had raised my first batch of BStails & was hooked on butterflies in general. I contacted Judy by email & told her the Boone trip in the Fall was a tradition for my hubby & myself, & she said she would have some mw seeds for me the following year. Sure enough, we returned to the Orchard & she had the mw seeds. It was in late October, so it was too late to do anything about the mweed seeds, so I guarded them, placed them in a safe, remember-able place for the next year. The rest is history. Monarchs play a major role in my life nowadays, as do the other bflies I raise, but the Monarchs are special. The whole process, from egg, to live release is a very special time for me. Starting out with one of the large pop-up pavilions, to adding on a solarium, as we had already planned a master suite addition, I just added a solarium with decking inbetween, & decking running the entire length of the back of our home, I knew the solarium would end up being my Butterfly space. So with my 18x35 solarium & matching master suite, both opening to the decking, Pella windows & Solar tubes, I was ready to enjoy life, as God had blessed us so richly with a wonderful life & blessed marriage. I have several health problems that would normally stress-out the average marriage, but we turned this into a situation that made us closer & our marriage has remained stronger, with God's blessings & His help. The bflies ended up being great therapy for my Fibromyalgia, Lupus, & 3 failed lower back surgeries. Instead of taking the stronger pain medications, I would take moderate doses of Darvocet N-100 & work in my plants, as I was retired, & loved staying at home, my days were filled with beauty & peace. I hate to think, if it were not for God above, my loving husband, & my love for nature & God's handiwork & beautiful creations, where my life would be today. I can't think of a better way to start my days, except when the really cold weather comes, than to go out on my deck, with my first cup of coffee, & watch the ending of the sunrise, overlooking my milkweeds, (in Monarch season harvesting cats for the safety waiting in my solarium with more pavilions than I can remember, adding the 100 gallon black mesh "Reptarium" I treated myself to this year), & the various nectar plants, anxiously awaiting the first sighting of my beloved Monarchs. In colder weather I manage to keep my days full with the tropical houseplants & citrus that I keep inside in the solarium in cold weather. Life has its trials & getting older can be a pleasant experience if we look at the glass as half full & the weather partly sunny, rather than the usual partly cloudy. I really enjoy the forums & others' experiences. I thank God for each & every one of my 63 years on this earth & know how blessed I am, and loving my life of Loving my Monarchs. Love to all.

[Mona Miller]

I use a screen tent each year and right now inside are hundreds of caterpillars. I'm trying to plan on how I will feed them all, whether I will take some in, or leave them in the tent. At least in the tent, they grow more naturally--preparing for their journey south. It is therapy for me also. I love watching these incredible creatures and hope that I am helping them just a little bit on their journey.

[tarheel]

One quick question on your tent.. are the cats safe from the ants? They are a great concern here in coastal NC, we have fire ants, which can kill calves if they are birthed accidently on an ant mound, they are powerful & toxic.

[Mona Miller]

We don't have fire ants. We have another small ant, which farms aphids. I have caught those in the tent. I use a product called 'Terro', which I get from Lowes. It is boric acid with a sugar base. The ants carry this back to their queen, which within a week or two kills the whole colony.

You can actually place the plants on top of a table and stick the table legs down into oil/water. I have gotten advice on that from many butterfly farmers.