Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 5 September 2021

Hi Annette in So Cal, I live in Rochester, NY, near the south shore of Lake Ontario, where I have occasionally seen osprey on my walks, but not often enough (as in daily). My monarch cat turned itself into a chrysalis overnight. It is so beautiful. I have been waiting to see evidence of the last generation which will, upon emerging, fly to Mexico.

Unknown said:

CC: Welcome to the thread. Good that you didn't have to worry about your Dad, but awful about your mom. Meanwhile, you have monarch butterflies in your neighborhood? May I ask where you live?

Morning all:  My UK family, especially my niece, has been despondent about the wretched summer there. I hope there's a chance for a decent September....

PatO:  Yes, include AQ'a quote that in the church's newsheet.  :-)    (Easy for me to say.)

CC:  Ah, so you get real winters up there then, with lake-effect snow and all that goes with it. Brrrrr. And your Monarch's have a much longer migration that ours.  I was just reading that the Eastern Monarch population is down 80% and I know ours are too, but neither are yet on the endangered species list because they apparently aren't as endangered as other species....  Crikey. So just how endangered does something have to be I wonder.   We have a couple of eucalyptus groves a mile or so from our house that used to be dripping with monarchs during our winter months.  I was planting non-native milkweed until everyone realized it could prevent them from migrating south, so I replaced that with native milkweed but it seems to be very slow growing.   What fascinates me is how the caterpillar finds places to hide.  I had one that somehow got up a plumeria plant and another that ended up under the top ledge of a wall and behind a vine. Got to watch the one on the plumeria go through all the phases until it broke out - such a thrill.

Take care all.

I enjoyed seeing the house ( see my earlier post). It is a two bedroom bungalow and they have extended it. Now they have an open plan kitchen, diner and seating area, plus a sitting room with a wood burning stove. I'm jealous, as I would love a stove ! Both bedrooms now have en suite shower.
It has made me wonder, again , about downsizing...

Heather. Would you downsize to a bungalow? Something more modern? Is that a wood-burning stove or fireplace? I have a 'real' fireplace in 'my' room, but I remember cleaning out the grates and resetting fires in our ancient (and very unhealthy) coal-burning fireplaces back in 1950s UK, so have opted for a phoney electric contraption in mine that looks cosey and doesn't require tending...

I seem to remember in a wonderful TV programme here about a year ago, that they said the Monarchs can vary in population a great deal, from one year to the next. I hope so. What wonderful creatures, and what a memorable, glorious sight when they all fly off together.

Heather, we had a two bedroomed bungalow to alter, when I inherited it from my mother, and we put another bedroom in, in the attic, and enlarged the tiny kitchen, plus a pleasant conservatory to sit in, in daytime. Wouldn't go back now, even though our previous living room had been huge. If my knees get any worse now, I can use the downstairs bedroom & bathroom and ignore the stairs :-) Ideal until we get too frail.

Annette- We had a mock fire put into our fireplace for that reason. I love "real fires" but they're a lot of work.

Apologies to AQ, but my cousin has relatives in Australia & she has posted this:

ARRGH!  :-)

Annette, I forgot to say, how sorry I was to hear about the dreadful flash floods in New York. How shocking, and sad that there was loss of life, too.

Annette: It is cold here, but not unbearable, to me at least. I like the snow, but not the slippery ice and biting winds. A plow guy does my driveway and I shovel the rest. It is good exercise and I can do as much as I want at a time. I put out a feeder for the birds and enjoy the sights!

Lindy: Sadly, the population has plummeted on the east coast by a total of 80%, an addl 26% just this past spring. Habitat loss and climate change being the culprits, I have read. I'm so happy to see this one caterpillar successfully make it to chrysalis stage! Just back from a walk where I did see at least a couple monarchs, but they were not flying in the right direction! Must wait to see what the counts are next spring.

Heather: I replaced my wood-burning fireplace in the living room with a gas insert and it has been a godsend. First of all, it is really clean and no fuss. Secondly, much as I love the wood-burning fireplace, the heat just got sucked up out of the house through the chimney so my bedroom froze.

But what I'm REALLY curious  about is how you guys in Europe and UK manage the summer without air conditioning! I would just DIE without my central air conditioning!

The flash floods were a real surprise to New Yorkers. Dreadful aftermath letting us know this is not a one off event, that there are more to come and we must be prepared. It is not only the other parts of the US to be affected...