greenmother's Journal

I and some of my outdoor buddies have noticed that the Monarchs are very far and few between this season. Yesterday I counted 2 in a 10 mile ride. I should have seen 10s or 100s on the roadsides visiting the asters, and sunflowers. The day before, I saw one. Late last week I saw 3, and during the period of the state fair, our peak day of butterfly sightings on our drive through OKC and the surrounding metro area--8 whole butterflies. Mostly in the OKC area.

It's quite demoralizing. The drought has just kicked these poor butterflies while they are already down.

Thankfully we have gotten some significant rain recently, and this has caused the flowers to rebloom which is a boon for all the pollinators. This drought has been so extreme, I expect a large loss of trees and shrubs by next spring. Hopefully the Monarchs will have a better season next year. Hopefully I will have to eat my words soon, because they will just arrive en masse, a little later than usual.

Last year we could not have fires because of a burn ban, due to the extreme drought. This year at Foss Park, the ban was lifted, but it was still windy and dry. We brought Coleman cook stoves instead of having a fire, to be on the safe side.

This year, instead of being in the balmy 80s, the temperatures plummeted into the 40s. But with the wind coming off the lake, it felt like there was probably a windchill factor in the 30s. It was cold.

Everyone was bundled up in layers of clothing, many of us were unprepared for it to be below the mid 40s. And as the temperatures spiraled in a downward direction, the insects and animals holed up, to avoid the cold as well. I found a flower beetle of some sort, but not much else that was moving. So I focused mostly on plants.

However, some, more experienced folk found all sorts of animals, plants, fungi, and algae. Hats off to you. I just wanted to hide from the wind! This was an unusual weather event for this time of year. Normally such things do not happen until November.

It was a nice time though. It was good to see so many familiar, friendly faces. The kids had a great time, scavenging for insects and reptiles and trying to capture fish. We all enjoyed the hot chocolate and hot tea. And the film, "Where Did the Horny Toad go?" was a very well done documentary on the decline of the Texas Horned Toad.
http://jarofgrasshoppers.com/ I cannot wait to see this on OETA or PBS in general. I saw that they have a page on facebook for interested parties. America has literally, loved that poor lizard to death.

This turned me on to the Horned Lizard Conservation Society.
http://www.hornedlizards.org/

And I purchased a soft cover version of this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Horned-Lizards-North-America/dp/0520228278/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1349712002&sr=8-4
If you want to know more about Horned Lizards, this is THE book to get. I have skimmed it once, and will probably wear the spine out on it.

We did not see any Horned Lizards at the park, but it was so cold that I am sure that they were all underground with most of the other reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Oklahoma Bio Blitz possible and to all the other individuals and families who participated. We always have such a great time. If you have a Bio Blitz in your state, I highly recommend that you attend.