Category Archives: 2005

August butterflies – August 11, 2005

This is a great time for butterflies at the farm. While we were walking around with the Prairie Enthusiasts, Jeff spotted the first Giant Swallowtail of the year in East Center Valley Prairie. We saw some Milbert’s Tortoiseshell caterpillars on the nettles in 3 Finger Valley, and a Black Swallowtail caterpillar on a stalk of Queen Anne’s Lace.
Black Swallowtail caterpillar Continue reading

Journal for August 10, 2005

This was the week of the Prairie Enthusiasts tour of our farm. It was great fun – 10 people came, some people I knew from the River Falls area, and several we had never met from LaCrosse, Winona, Buffalo City, and Waumandee. It was so nice to have prairie folks to talk to about our prairies. Continue reading

Raising Monarchs

This is an entry about raising caterpillars into butterflies or moths. I’ve been doing a lot of that this summer – it’s a great science project for kids or adults. It’s fun, I always learn a lot, and it’s good for the butterflies and moths too – when you put the caterpillars in a cage, you protect them from predation, and many more of them live to grow up. Continue reading

Journal for July 27, 2005

This was the week of the party, so most of our projects were party related. It has been so hot that we couldn’t do much outside. But on the day of the party it rained in the morning, and then never warmed up again – it stayed cloudy and relatively cool – perfect weather for an outside party. Continue reading