February was the time for butterfly garden winter clearing, weeding, pruning, cutting back my beautiful Jatrophas, Limey Prickly Ash, and more. I know how important this is but I also feel heartfelt sadness until I see new growth appearing then I know time is near for Spring to burst through with beautiful colors in my garden.
This year I expanded my fenceline which created more opportunity to expand my butterfly gardens and add more host, nectar, hummingbird plants……starting seeds of different plants to prepare.
My new arbor and greenhouse idea implemented with heavy wire and long metal stakes. A funny story behind my designing a greenhouse to grow milkweed for Monarch Butterflies. Over the last 4 years, Monarchs have been a great part of my purpose to start gardening….I would go lengths to buy milkweed year round so they would have milkweed to lay eggs, caterpillars to grow, flowers for nectar for feeding monarchs. You see I have been researching, observing, documenting, designing, thinking more and more. I would ponder how, why, what can I do to keep milkweed in my garden…because it takes time for a milkweed plant to regrow after being eaten to the stems by a very hungry caterpillar.
So, 2020 was time for a change I began growing my own milkweed from seeds….well thats another adventure worth laughing about….. I purchased seeds online Mexican Milkweed (asclepias curvassavica), White/Pink Swamp Milkweed (asclepias incarnata), giant milkweed (Calotropis gigantea) and more…. But lets step back my first milkweed seed experience brought me to take further steps some forward then back again …..so I sewed seeds, plants started to grow,,, not even 1-2 inches tall I noticed leaves were missing WHAT? well as I observed daily I saw caterpillars as I looked closer eggs….and then I saw the Monarch Butterfly flying over and landing on my new plants and yes laying eggs Well I learned lots and have grown from that first experiences of growing milkweed……………
Now, I have mesh covering for growing seeds and plants so they can grow to mature plants for Monarchs to enjoy Oh yes, those Monarchs are clever but they have not found a way to fly thru mesh! Fast forward to today… thats how I came to designing my first greenhouse, keeping it simple until time to go the next step.
An exciting month has begun……Jatrophas, Firebushes, limey ash tree are all showing fresh growth…..seeds have sprouted and plants are growing….beautiful colors are appearing along with blossoms, flowers, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, and so much more…Take a peek
New Butterfly Garden 
Main Butterfly Garden 
My Butterfly Fairy 
Main Butterfly Garden new plants added 
Replanting for Spring 
Herb Garden addition 
Pipevine growing over new arbor 
Added wire fencing for vines 
Honeysuckle planted 
Plants regrowth 
Tropical Milkweed Blooming 
Milkweed growing from seeds 
Plants in my greenhouse
We stayed overnight in a small village named Macheros, located in the state of Mexico which has a population of 350 – 400 people and 100 horses. The entrance to Cerro Pelon is located within the village conveniently.
So waking up the next morning, we walked to the entrance gate. The trail guides had prepared the horses, we saddled up for an hour to hour and a half trail ride to observe the overwintering Monarch Butterflies.
The mountainous trail itself was very sandy, steep and narrow. The horses kicked up a lot of dust. Often the horses would get very close to edge of mountainside which caused me to hold my breath a few times. But the beauty of nature took over and the appearance of Monarch Butterflies changed everything!
The mountainous trail itself was very sandy, steep and narrow. Often the horses would get very close to edge of mountainside which caused you to hold your breath a few times. But the beauty of the mountainous trail and appearance of Monarch Butterflies took over for our nerves so we could enjoy the ride.
Map of Cero Pelon 
Cerro Pelon entrance 
Blanco…my spunky Horse 
Headed out on Trail 
Trail ride …dusty 
View from Trail
As we kept riding we reached a clearing and we saw thousands upon thousands of Monarch Butterflies enjoying the warm sunny day. What a magnificent site to observe so many Monarchs. We disembarked our horses, they took a rest while we explored the meadow.
CLose-up Monarchs 
Monarchs in clearing 
Monarchs flying 
Monarchs in clearing 
View of trees 
Monarchs flying
Then we took a hike into the forest to observe the Monarch Colony in the Oyamel trees deep in forest. Views along our hike below…
Cerro Pelon Hike 
Monarchs above 
Monarchs Mating 
Tree down 
Monarchs 
Sun peeking thru 
Silence near Colonies
After a turbulent end and start to a New Year, our world needs REIKI healing for PEACE urgently…… Calling all Reiki Practitioners, Friends, and Family.
Please join my daily until peace can prevail at 2 pm EST for 15 minutes and send REIKI to the world for peaceful transition of power in DC specifically but peace to the world.
I know I cannot change other people or their actions but my heart and mind got thinking on my daily walk this morning and I asked what can I do? How can I make a difference?
Here I am…I have my blog… I have REIKI… lets join together and make a difference.
Please join me…2pm EST REIKI DISTANCE HEALING for PEACE in our world…..
This year has been an active Butterfly season, I have seen many multiple species of different butterflies this season enjoying my garden. I want to share some recent photos in this post.
Monarch 
Monarchs Mating 
Giant Swallowtail 
Giant Swallowtail 
Polydamas Swallowtail 
Polydamas Swallowtails Mating
Those are a few of my daily Butterfly visitors along with different species of Skippers and Sulfurs, White Peacocks and more!
This season has also brought additions to my garden, we built and added a new Butterfly House for Caterpillars to transition into a butterflies. So I currently have 3 butterfly houses within my main butterfly garden.
Also added new garden pathway with added fence line and gates into the garden. I had a flood which caused chaos for a month but we are back on track now with new plants, active caterpillars and butterflies.
I started growing plants from seeds which has been a learning experience but that will be a future post. Along with adding a greenhouse for the growing plants and expanded garden areas to include wide variety of host, nectar, shelter, attractor plants for different types of Butterflies.
We awoke in Morelia, Mexico to a delicious breakfast at our hotel with in their beautiful garden courtyard. You can hear the birds singing with blue skies and cool morning air.
Our Travel day took us sightseeing to local villages as we traveled to Macheros, Mexico for our next day journey to our first Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Cerro Pelon.
We traveled to a village called Santa Clara del Cobre that was filled with Shops that sell and make Copper items. We entered one that gave us a Copper demonstration, the copper is transformed with extreme heat and then hammering the copper into an item like a pot or vase.
Copper Shop 
Hammer..Hammer 
Melt Copper
We walked around this magical, artistic village and shopped until our tour guide said we had to travel on. But we all found copper treasures to take home like butterflies, jewelry, bowls and vases. We also found a Mexican Candy shop for a sweet treat or two.
We headed off to Lake Zirahuen for a delicious lunch with a plate full of Authentic Mexican Quesadillas. On our drive, our tour guides tells us about this Folklore of a Mermaid living in the Lake(there are different versions of this folklore but here’s a summary of what I remember)…. There was a Princess who fell in love with an Spanish captain but her father, the King disapproved so her kept her captive. The story says she cried and cried and cried until a lake was formed…..she became a mermaid in the Lake and may appear to those with “evil hearts” today….and so the folklore says..(check it out online or go visit the Lake yourself and take a look)
Quesadillas 
Lunch Cafe 
Drink Up 
The Lake 
The Lake
We then set in for a long SUV ride across Mexico enjoying the villages along the way. Our travel time was just over 4 hours to reach Macheros. We arrived late in the evening at a B & B , ate a quick bit and settled to bed for the night.
As my previous post says, I went to Mexico last February on a Monarch Overwintering Tour! We visited 3 Butterfly Sanctuaries in the Mountains of Mexico: Cerro Pelon, El Rosario and Sierra Chinchua. They all were the same yet different which I will explain on future blog posts. When I got back home from Mexico I had another trip planned which brought me home Mid-March ….for the start of shut down for the Covid-19 virus.
With that said life had lots of twists and turns and I have been designing and creating this video during my free time. And Finally I am proud to say I’m publishing my first you-tube video! Check it out and leave me a comment or two!!! Share the link with your butterfly friends
Please enjoy this video and follow along on my blog for more details of my adventure and more!
In February 2020, I received an invitation to travel to the Mountains of Mexico on a nature tour of the overwintering Monarch Butterflies. I was like YES, YES, YES I must go! So I planned and researched and knew the decision to travel to Mexico was right for me.
Here’s a little background knowledge of why I had to go…
I stayed at home with my children as they grew-up, as they departed one by one I was pondering and finding myself “beyond imom” as I like to say. Yes, though I will always be a Mom but it was time to find my passion beyond- imom.
I went back to nature, I found my passion in Butterfly Gardening. (Little did I know it would bring me to explore the Mountains of Mexico to find Monarch Butterflies who migrated there for their winter months.) My backyard garden started out small with a focus on Monarch Butterflies, Monarch Caterpillars, Monarch Host and nectar plants. I researched and even took a Butterfly 101 class to learn the anatomy, habits and habitats and more. I have grown my Butterfly Garden throughout my landscape and have just expanded my fence line, even started selling milkweed plants that I’ve grown from seeds.I also host many different Butterflies and their Caterpillars!
But that’s another story to share, for now let me take you on my journey to Mexico. I joined a tour group from a Butterfly Organization that I belong to, we explored the Mountains of Mexico where the Monarch Butterflies migrate over 3,000 miles annually to find a place to live and survive over winter. We explored 3 different Butterfly Sanctuaries and traveled by SUV over 1,000 miles!
I met my tour group at the Airport in Morelia, Mexico and that’s where we started our Monarch journey. Our tour guide picked us up at the airport and drove us to our Hotel. On the way, we saw people in costumes, a parade with carnival feel…..this was a celebration of the Carnaval which happens across Mexico annually in season of lent.
We had a delicious Mexican lunch at a local cafe and enjoyed people watching, entertainment and learning about the culture.
After we got settled in hotel, we took a walk around the city and had a fabulous outdoor dinner across from the Morelia Cathedral and center city square. We were in the center of Carnival entertainment and family fun. We had a drop by dinner serenade by a local band at our dinner table.
We even enjoyed fireworks over the cathedral.
After a long travel day we headed off to bed for a well needed sleep to prepare for our week. Follow my next post with more about my Monarch Journey to the Butterfly Sanctuaries in Mexico.