Today, 9/29/21had a wooly bear on my front porch. New birds arriving-- a family of six wild turkeys. They go begging door to door for handouts. What happened to the natural order of things? Chipmunks loading up their warehouses-- one I call Amazon because of his many storage spots. Doves coming in three times a day for grub and water. Perhaps humans should be prepping as well. Crab apple tree destroyed by three plagues of caterpillars. Now back in full leaf and producing apples. Life finds a way.
So, what was the prediction from the wooly bear, @Brian Naginoth ? We had them in Idaho, but I do not ever remember seeing one out here in Alabama. Someone from one of my Idaho Facebook groups posted a picture, and hers had quite a bit of the brown in the middle, but still almost equal amounts of the black and the brown. The more black bristles they have, the colder the winter is supposed to be, and the end with the most black is supposed to be the coldest part of the winter. https://www.weather.gov/arx/woollybear
Agreed. You're likely also familiar with Monarch butterfly migrations: 3,000 miles...the largest annual migration of any species on the planet. No individual butterfly lives long enough to make the round-trip flight even once, yet somehow they find their way back to their breeding sites in Mexico. Maybe this and tiny birds' migrations also belong in the "Do You Believe In Miracles?" thread.
We have two different things you can buy here for when there’s ice on the sidewalk. The first are metal studs fixed to rubber webbing that you pull over the soles of your shoes. The other thing are winter boots called Icebugs that have studded soles. DH has a pair and he swears by them. He no longer has to hang on to the handles of my wheelchair when we go out in icy weather. Do you have anything like these in the US?
@John Brunner Definitely for butterflies but some species of birds fly much farther. Some colonies of the silver tern that nest in summer in the arctic regions migrate to Antarctis in winter. Studies of little leaf warblers that nest in Eastern Siberia have shown that they migrate via south west Asia to Kenya and Tanzania. Amazing for a bird that weighs less than half an ounce
We use to see all kinds of butterflys every year, now very seldom see even one.I was talking about the Monarch on here a few weeks ago.Thanks for the nice pic's on their journey. We photographed a Monarch as it evolved from its cocoon. We have plenty of silkweed and other plants they like for them but haven't seen a Monarch in a couple years,and thats very sad and kind of worrisome.
We have several versions of the "Slip Stopper" here in the U.S. used primarily for ice fishing, although I guess you could use them anywhere. With our warmer winters here lately, it's hard to get a year with safe ice. There was none last year.
Those Ice Bugs look amazing. Will have to look for them. Thank you. We do have the slip on webs but I have trouble even putting on socks ; )
@Mary Stetler Here’s a link to their international website. I checked and they do ship to the USA if you can’t find them over there.
Yes, I have several types. They were required at one of the places I worked, as small women were being blown down and across the parking lot. We began an "escort service" to get then to their vehicles in stormy conditions. I do not have Icebugs, but I made my own when we had livestock by putting short hex-headed screws into the soles of heavy-soled boots.
I miss Bibi. Last year, we had an increase in butterflies. This year, not so many but some different kinds. A lot of folks are actually planting milkweed.
I just stepped out to get a good look at the plant we have for butterflies, and it looks like Milkweed, not Silkweed. Whatever the butterfly's like it.