The Common Milkweed: Butterflies & The Importance of Going Natural

As I mentioned in another entry previously, we decided to leave areas of our property not mowed so that we could see what grows naturally and its effect on local wildlife. So many "weeds" are quite beneficial and beautiful with flower displays. .

We want to keep our designated areas as natural as possible, identify those plants that seem beneficial, and then add other good sources of food and shelter as we need to, in order to "beautify" and expand the resources for our beloved animals. It's going to be a long process but I am glad we are starting this early so we can gradually attain our final goal of our own private wildlife preserve.

An area by our cess-pond (as I fondly call it) was mowed last year since the entire property was seriously overgrown (the previous owners used it only occasionally as a vacation home), but this year with David leaving it among our "test areas" we recently saw about 30 butterflies of different species engulfing plants with pinkish flowers, a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

This native perennial plant is 2 - 6 feet tall (typically 3 - 4 feet tall) and unbranched, except sometimes toward the apex, where the flowers occur. The central stem is relatively stout, pale green, cylindrical and slightly tapered. The opposite leaves are up to 8" long and 3½" wide, broadly oblong in shape, and smooth along their margins. The upper leaf surface is pale-medium to dark green and hairless above, while the lower leaf surface is densely covered with woolly hairs that are very short. There is a prominent central vein along the length of each leaf, and finer side veins that radiate outward toward the smooth margins.

Umbels of flowers, each about 2½" - 4" across, emerge from the axils of the upper leaves. These flowers are quite fragrant, with a scent resembling violets or pansies, and they range in color from faded light pink to reddish purple. Each flower is about ¼" across, star-shaped in dense rounded clusters at top of straight stem. The hoods are more light-colored than the petals. The pedicels of the flowers are light green to pale red and hairy. The blooming period lasts about 1 - 1½ months from early to mid-summer (June, July, August). The seedpods (follicles) are 3" - 4" long and covered with soft prickles and short woolly hairs. At maturity, each seedpod split along one side to release numerous seeds that have large tufts of white hair, with dispersion of seed by wind. The root system has long creeping rhizomes, promoting the vegetative spread.

Common Milkweed occurs in every county of Illinois and it is quite common. Habitats include moist to dry black soil prairies, sand prairies, sand dunes along lake shores, thickets, woodland borders, fields and pastures, abandoned fields, vacant lots, fence rows, and areas along railroads and roadsides. This plant is a colonizer of disturbed areas in both natural and developed habitats.

The crown-like flowers of milkweeds are cunning traps for insect pollinators, second in their intricacy only to the orchids. Each blossom has five nectar cups with smooth, incurved horns growing from them. When an insect lands, its foot slips on a horn and goes into a slit between two cups. If the insect is not strong enough to pull its legs out, it dies there (or is eaten by another). If it is strong enough, it comes away carrying two bags of pollen, called pollinia, like saddlebags. At the next flower, its foot slips again; this time, as it picks up more pollinia, it deposits the first two beside the cups, where the pollen develops to fertilize future seeds.

When either the central stem or leaves are torn, a milky sap oozes out that has variable toxicity in the form of cardiac glycosides. The name milkweed refers to the milky white  sap, which contains bitter chemicals to protect the plants from predators. A few insects are immune to these poisons and accumulate them in their bodies, protecting themselves from their own predators. Monarch butterflies cannot complete their life cycles without milkweed. 

There is a legend of the Old West about a runty outlaw who drank rattlesnake venom every morning so he could kill a big man by spitting in his eye. Milkweeds furnish similar venom for Monarch butterflies. The leaves are poisonous to most animals, but Monarch caterpillars and a few others eat nothing else. As a result, they - and the butterflies they become - are themselves toxic to potential predators. The Viceroy butterfly benefits by its resemblance to the Monarch; predators tend to leave them alone. This is known as mimicry and is also true for other species as well, such as the Pipevine Swallowtail.

 

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And believe it or not, the milkweed can be used as food for human consumption, but please first note: Warning: ***Poisonous Parts***: Milky sap from leaves, stems (toxic only in large quantities). Symptoms include vomiting, stupor, weakness, spasms by ingesting other species; need careful identification.   

Edible Parts:  Leaves, new shoots, flower buds and firm seed pods. Gather leaves in early spring when they first open. Gather seed pods in summer. Parboil for three minutes, then discard bitter water and replace with clean boiling water. (Cold water tends to fix bitterness.) Repeat this process three times, then cook the leaves for 15 minutes before seasoning them. A pinch of soda can be added during cooking to break down the fiber and improve flavor.

The young shoots under six inches long, found during the spring are used as a vegetable. Remove the fuzz on the shoot by rubbing it off. Preparation is the same as for the leaves. Collect flower buds and flowers during the summer. Dip buds in boiling water for one minute, batter and deep fry. When cooked like broccoli, buds are similar to okra. The flower clusters may also be battered and fried. After cooking, buds, flowers and leaves can be frozen. Use like okra in soups. A bit of baking soda in the water will help break down the tough fibers in the seed pod. Parboiled for several minutes, the young pods may be slit, rolled in a cornmeal/flour mixture and fried or frozen for future use.

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Whether it's as a food source, shelter, or as a balance with other plant life, so much of our wildlife depends on them! When I was a kid walking the soybean and corn fields on my dad's farm, though, this was one of the plants I detested trying to get out the most! They seemed impossible to cut or pull and it usually ended up with my brother-in-law forced to cross over row upon row of crop to help me. Hey, I was only a little kid! haha That sap was no fun when it got on you either! 

As for the butterflies that David photographed on the milkweeds, I will be posting separately about them so that I can provide some (hopefully) interesting facts about each. I can't believe the massive butterflies around here, I can see them halfway across the property! The eastern tiger swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail, and great spangled fritillary (to name a few) certainly add to the colorful beauty around our home, and deserve their own featured entries.

And for a quick update on our "pet" birds, we haven't seen bluejays or cowbirds for quite a while, and this was true last year as well. We are seeing more cardinals and their young, many goldfinches and indigo buntings (which I am very happy about!). The goldfinches and buntings are in the "weed" patches often, and those natural areas appear to have attracted greater numbers of them. The hummingbird charm (who also like milkweed by the way!) is in full force and going through our sugar like crazy. Our summer thus far has been hot but with some cooler temps mixed in, and lovely rains that we missed out on last year during our drought. It's just about 80F today and sunny, another gorgeous day in the Shawnee Forest.

Until next time...

 

 

Chug chug chug....

I started an update earlier this month and it never went beyond Draft, and since I've had a couple of messages asking me about "why no updates?" I wanted to provide a quick one.

Unfortunately, June didn't treat us much kinder than May! After a major setback in David's shoulder, we are slowly but surely trying to regain momentum for a long fight ahead. He went back up north on July 11th to see a doctor who treated him successfully years ago, but after stabilizing David, running some blood tests and another MRI, David has now been referred to a specialist in St. Louis since his case is complicated. The doctor also wants David to see an infectious disease specialist since there could still be some infection, and affecting the bone. So, again we wait....which merely adds to the mental strain (and for David, physical agony) already suffered to date. Gradually moving forward helps somewhat, which thus far July has consisted of; it's the uncertainty and limbo that wears us down. With my own medical issues to deal with, it's been overwhelming to think much beyond functioning to get through the day.

We still maintain we are in the best place we can be to heal though!

I'll include below some tidbits of what I had in the original draft weeks ago:

It seems the bluebirds have more young already?!? We are seeing more in the nesting box, and were quite surprised to see more activity there so soon. Here is one doing while it's doing its daily run for insects!

 

Nelson the raccoon and his family have been enjoying their daily feasts with us; his missus has provided him with three young ones. A couple joined mama on our deck and one of them thought that hiding his eyes made him invisible.

Wrong! haha 

Oh, and that worry about not seeing hummingbirds? Ha! The charm is swarming our front deck and we are rapidly going through the sugar for their nectar! If anyone plays the stock market, buy shares in sugar! haha

Thank you to those that contacted me for their concern, I will hopefully be updating "very" soon! I have missed writing! David has found a way to take photos, so it's not been all doom and gloom and we've had an exciting addition to our life here. More on that later... :)

Until next time....

Eastern Bluebirds and their young

Dear Diary,

I have missed writing! Now that the month of May-hem is over, perhaps life can resume to its normal trials and tribulations instead of piling more on one day after the next! Now that the well is back in working order (for the second time, due to the cable shorting out...unrelated to the work done the first time), and attempts to catch up are gradually succeeding, I can get back to writing in our diary.

 

First, an apology to my husband…for being a jinx! On May 10^th, I mentioned in my last “normal post” about deer in our area and being careful while driving; on May 28^th, he hit a deer! Correction, a deer hit him. He is always very cautious but this was an example that sometimes it doesn’t matter. As he was driving home from just a few miles away, he was driving past the guardrail by the river when he became conscious of something in the side mirror; in that split second, a deer hit the left headlight/turn signal and then David heard a second thud beside him (which was the driver's door being dented!). The deer was apparently in the deep bank and lunged for the road; being impossible to see since David had actually already driven past him until he saw him as it struck the vehicle. 

David feared it may be hurt and suffering, so went back and saw the deer scramble to its feet and leap into the woods. Pfffft, not even any venison to reward us after that nonsense! As it turned out, after the deer hit the front, he must have been spun around and he hit the driver’s side door and David was unable to open the door. He had to crawl into the passenger side and crawl over….which is very tricky with his recovering shoulder. 

So, actually, I owe my husband two apologies…the second apology being that when he off-handedly mentioned driving down to the river as the light of day was fading, I laughingly said, “after the May we’ve had, I wouldn’t”. I should have known better! Jinx!

 

But all was not doom and gloom during the merry month of May. One of our favorite things, bird-watching, was rewarded last month with our Eastern Bluebirds. The bluebird parents were very busy as they both perched in various areas throughout the yard to catch insects in order to feed their young. One would perch on a nearby tree while another would perch on a wire farther down the property, swoop down and fly to the nest to feed; once done the other would fly to the nest and feed as well. A great example of teamwork!

 

 

They would then change positions, sometimes also on top of the flagpole and at times in other trees, ever watchful for insects to catch. This would go on for hours, every day, in the mornings and evenings. It was difficult to keep track of them and their seemingly endless hunting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As each would catch food, they would fly over to the nest and stick their heads in to feed the young awaiting their next morsel eagerly.

 

Then we were able to see the young peeking out of the nest! What a shock it must be for the young ones to look out of their small wooden box to see the big wide world out there!

  

 

The parents would still do their cycle of watching, swooping, grabbing, and flying to the nest to feed their young. It was an amazing thing to see and I am so glad the bluebirds decided to nest in a tree we could see easily from our front deck.

Wait...don't go...I'm still hungry!

 

 

 



A week or so ago, the bluebird parents began flying around together from tree to tree, chattering between themselves often. Fledglings remain dependent on their parents for about a month, so we hoped we would have time to see it/them. We kept watch on the nest but could see no young looking out, so we are assuming the fledglings were being taught by their parents on how to be an Eastern Bluebird. As hard as we tried, we could not see it/them even though they were bound to be nearby and still talking with each other often, discussing their young.

 

Until a few days ago that is! Around 8:30, David saw the bluebirds flying about and I joined him on the deck. The two bluebirds were showing the young’un the ropes and it was so adorable. One of them was on top of the flagpole, when I saw the young’un fly from the tree and fly toward the flagpole. It suddenly seemed unsure how to land with another bird there, so it flew past and then became confused of where to go next! It floundered during flight for a bit but then swooped up to the roof to get its bearings. The parent flew off toward the cypress tree and the young followed. It was such a joy to see them out and about, ready to begin another cycle of life.

 

We wish our lovely new family the very best!

We haven’t seen much of our hummingbird charm of late…since there is an abundance of honeysuckle (our air is redolent of it!) and other tasty items we’re hoping they are merely taking advantage of their availability. I did see one come to the feeder last night for a brief sip. We didn’t want to use our tap water since it still tasted of the chlorination treatment required when the well was repaired, and used rain water. We then considered what if they don’t like rain water either? David tested by changing one of them to bottled water and within minutes, a hummingbird flew to it and drank. I've been seeing more visits to the feeder, so I guess that settles that! It’s amazing that they can tell without actually tasting it, even if the water is boiled. 

Until next time....

 

 

First canoe trip after shoulder surgery

A fine day today in the 70s, but it is getting cloudy and it's forecast there will be some rain late tonight and tomorrow more than likely in our neck of the woods.

David went to Metropolis yesterday for his second physio appointment. While there they discussed the motion of rowing so David asked if he could try a trip out on the canoe. The therapist told him he could try it so he did so later. But, first, our obligatory stroll around our yard.

A Blue Jay grabbing a snack:

 A male Cardinal checking if there's anything left:

 A Mourning Dove hanging out with the Cowbirds. I see them together quite a bit.

 A male American Goldfinch posing in a tree:

Here, I think, is a non-breeding male American Goldfinch (???)

 Male Cardinal hanging on:

 Turkey Vulture, our neighborhood garbage cleanup:

 A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird taking a probably much-needed rest in a shrub:

 They like to perch on all types of things, especially when they are guarding their new territory!

 A Chipping Sparrow bellies up to the trough:

 

 Ah, here's Sylvia, our female Red-bellied Woodpecker; I mentioned the other day it wouldn't be long before you met her.

 David put some seed in the hole for them to dig out:

 A female Cardinal and male Cowbird having a chat.

 An Eastern Kingbird in one of our trees: 

Tufted Titmouse having a look around:

 The Mourning Dove, without the pleasure of the Cowbirds' company this time:

 The Eastern Bluebird enjoys perching in the pine tree:

 A Cedar Waxwing!

Even further distant, a Red-headed Woodpecker perched in a tree. We hear him hammering away at those trees all the time.

 And, now for David's adventure in the canoe. He went to nearby to the flooded field again (that was dry and is now flooded again).

He saw a Beaver near the boat launch; there are several hanging around there.

 A closer look:

Now for some views along the way; it's great to get photos from such a different perspective:

At least David didn't hurt himself! He's not sure the motion is quite what he's after to help with his physio, but he's glad that he went out and tried it.

He also shot a few short videos while out in the canoe; below is one with swallows that are near the bridge by Barren Creek: 

Gar Pike swimming toward canoe:

Twirling a bit in the little whirlpool:

A lovely view from the canoe:

Silver carp spotted:

With that, it's time to call it a day! Until next time...