Freedom! While I’ve become attached to this little guy and would love for him to stay here, I decided to take him where he’d be free to roam through hundreds of blooming native flowers. Buchanan’s Native Plants is a local nursery that specializes in native plants. After the freeze, my neighborhood doesn’t have much blooming at the moment. This nursery is the perfect place for my monarch butterfly to begin his wonderful life fluttering about. Thanks to Carol at Flower Hill Farm for some welcome advice, she suggested releasing him as soon as possible. With the weather forecasted to be in the 70’s this week, it seemed the perfect time to do so.
In case you are wondering how I know my butterfly is a male, I found out here at this helpful site and it is also shown here on Wikipedia.
He survived the first 48 hours in a 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft nylon photo cube that I found in the closet. I was perfect because it was easy to open and peek inside and it was white which let light diffuse in. I placed a 4-inch blooming gerbera daisy and some orange Asiatic lilies inside for him to enjoy. Needless to say, he was very slow getting started. That’s been the case since I first found him on the milkweed outside as a caterpillar. He spent nearly 3 days in the j position and 6 weeks in the chrysalis (normal time is about 10-14 days). I guess he preferred to move at his own schedule. He surprised me by surviving that long outside in January. (Read my post about my decision to bring him indoors before the BIG FREEZE.)
Back to the title FREEDOM….
We left around 11 a.m. yesterday on the 20-minute trip to Buchanan’s. I placed him in a clear plastic container with vents and headed east. We arrived at the nursery at about 11:30 a.m. I introduced the little guy to Donna Buchanan, the owner of Buchanan’s Native Plants, and went for a stroll to find the perfect spot.
Well no sooner did I open the container, he flew up, up, and away. I didn’t even have a chance to snap a photo, but I did find him resting in a crape myrtle tree about 20 feet away.
With so many flowering plants at the nursery, I know he’ll find plenty of food, water, and shelter. If you are in the area, stop by Buchanan’s. You may find him fluttering around.
Live long, be safe and happy my friend. Thank you for sharing some time with me.
