| OHCC LIVING | NOVEMBER 2024 |25
November can seem bittersweet for butterf ly lovers. It's a signal
that we are approaching the end of another season, as our Monarchs
retreat to their winter homes later this month. At the same time, it
means that our fall and winter plans for an even more successful
year in 2025 are well underway. The SMB Club is already working
to prepare at least four new areas within OHCC for planting, in
addition to the main sanctuary and the half-dozen additional spaces
that have already been developed. We are hoping for even more
space to dedicate to our butterf lies as OHCC (led by the Landscape
Committee) works to become eco-friendly. This expansion will
help to ensure that the number of butterf lies – Monarchs and other
species – that call OHCC's common areas and back yards home, will
continue to increase.
Our expansion plans were made possible, of course, by the great
success of the Butterf ly Ball. Not only did it get rave reviews as an
elegant evening, but it was a tremendous financial success as well.
Our heartfelt thanks go to all the donors who made our auctions
possible, and of course to the energetic bidders who contributed so
generously. The funds we raised that evening will go directly into
planting the milkweed and nectar plants that will host and feed the
next generation of butterf lies in OHCC.
Finally, a brief reassurance: along with the string of unusually
foggy, damp mornings we experienced in late September and
early October, came a blight that you may have noticed affecting
the appearance of your milkweed. It takes the form of tiny brown
spots on the undersides of milkweed leaves. This is caused by the
unusually damp conditions, and especially affects plants that get
a lot of shade. Do not worry – it does not affect the health of eggs,
caterpillars, or butterf lies, and it will disappear when the milkweed
goes dormant for the winter. Written by Myra Esler
Save the
monarch
butterfly
