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SEPTEMBER IN AROMAS
It has been a summer totally dovoid of butterflies. Last week they came, and I have never seen so many at this time of the year!!!
Winter is coming so we are now preparing for that. It's also that time of the year when we need to harvest seeds. Looks like we will have plenty of Curassavica seeds and some speciosa seeds as well.
Lot's of stuff going on right now.
August 25, 2002 we had a real nice Aromas Day and we sold a lot of plants as well, so that was nice.
We will be at the Monarch Festival at Natural Bridges on October 13 so if you live in the area, be sure to stop by and say hello.
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MAY IN AROMAS--We've had some unusual rain lately. Things were beginning to dry out now. Summers in California are very, very dry. The hills turn brown and air becomes very warm. Any weeds left will start to dry out and plants begin to need water, especially if they have just been planted. Plants that are more established tend to need less water.
May 18 we will begin going to the flea market to sell and things will be non stop until October. We are also scheduled to sell milkweed at the Butterfly Festival held at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont on Monday, May 27, 2002. For more information see scheduled events.
Have seen very few Monarchs. We will need to wait and see what happens.
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PICTURES OF ASCLEPIA FIELD
Long range shot of Asclepias Speciosa field. There are about 200 plants there. Each subsquent photo is closer to the plant.Click on picture to enlarge
Speciosa Field
Speciosa Field
Speciosa Sign
Speciosa Field.
Speciosa Plants
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APRIL IN AROMAS--This time of the year, we battle weeds and assess what has lived through the winter. We also get everything ready for selling during May-October. We analyze how our plants have done through the winter, so we will be able to tell our customers what to expect with their plants.
Have seen a few Monarchs, but it seems like we have not seen quite as many as last year.
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PICTURES OF ASCLEPIA FIELD
Picture taken March 30, Asclepias Speciosa Field April 2002.
Picture taken March 30. Speciosa are now starting to pop up.
Picture taken April 20, Asclepias Speciosa Field April 2002.
Picture taken April 20. Curassavica are now coming back.
Picture taken April 20. I thought the Currasavicas had not made it through the frosts, but here they come.
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PLANTING TIME IN AROMAS--This is a very important and precious time for us at butterflyplants.com. Winter is coming to an end and Spring has arrived. We have to do our field preparation and planting within a short time span. We have rototilled the "green manure" (fava) and have started to plant. We are also preparing plants for sale. We will start selling in May at the flea market. There have also been some unusual storms during March that have slowed our progress.
Some of our Asclepias did not make it through the winter. We've had some very cold spells and we are cutting dead material hoping the plants will come back. The natives of course are doing well, snuggled deep in the ground.
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PICTURES OF OUR FIELDS
Asclepias Speciosa Field.March 2002.
Same field from different angle.Speciosa will pop up in April/May.
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Natural Bridges State Park-- We will have a booth at the Migration Festival on February 9th, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Natural Bridges State Park. We will have plants and seeds for sale. 10% of all plant and seed sales will go to the Foundation that supports this wonderful Monarch over wintering site. We are having a coloring and composition contest for the kids. Winners will get prizes, as well as posting on the kids page. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUY SOME BUTTERFLY PLANTS, SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE AND SAY GOOD BY TO THESE AMAZING CREATURES AS THEY BEGIN THEIR LONG MIGRATION!!
Coloring Contest
WINTER TIME IN AROMAS--It has been really cold here. Cold for us is 32 degrees F. We have lost some plants due to the frost. The tropical Asclepias are looking ratty as they always do in the winter time, but this year it is a lot worse. I am going to have to wait a month or so to see who has survived. As always, the Speciosas are well protected as they snuggle underground waiting for spring. There is a definite advantage to native milkweed as they protect themselves from the cold by "hibernating". I have started a new patch of these native asclepias. I planted in the fall using seeds. I will see how we did on those. One of the things we do is we test seeds and plants here, and monitor them to see how they do. This way when we sell, we can talk from experience. I also planted some Asclepia seedlings last August to see how they would handle the winter. I will let you know more later. Looks like we might have an early spring here and I am debating whether or not go full bore on plantings etc. Frost is the iffy issue.
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NEW WEB DESIGN
-- Introducing the revised Douglas-Michel Butterfly Plants Web site. A new logo has been added, plus some new graphics. We have added "What's New", "Site Map", "Kids Page", "Schedule", "Plants for Sale" and "Policy on Non-distribution of Caterpillars" web pages. In the future we will be adding a feature so that you may be able to use a charge card to purchase seeds. We have also added a guest book so that you may submit your comments. The "Kids Page" is intended to be interactive so we have a guest book, a poll and an opportunity for kids to submit art work and compositions for publication.
New ISP --We have decided to move our ISP from a large national company to a local provider, Cruzio in Santa Cruz, California. This move gives us the opportunity to support the local economy and to be able to talk to a live person. As a result of this change we now have new e-mail addresses. Pete Michel can now be reached at: pete@butterflyplants.com. Sandi Douglas can now be reached at: sandi@butterflyplants.com.
WINTER TIME IN AROMAS--It has been a wet and early winter in Aromas. It should also start getting cold. Cold for us is 32 degrees F. We are beginning to worry about cold snaps. If the weather falls below 32 degrees we need to cover the Asclepias to avoid frost damage.
READY FOR SPRING?--Time to start planning for Spring time now. Watch for us at the Skyport Drive-in Flea Market the third Saturday in Feb. 2002.
Coyote Gardens in Morgan Hill, California--Coyote Gardens in Morgan Hill will also begin selling our plants in May. Watch for their grand opening.
Natural Bridges State Park-- We will have a booth at the Migration Festival on February 9th, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Natural Bridges State Park. We will have plants and seeds for sale. 10% of all plant and seed sales will go to the Foundation that supports this wonderful Monarch over wintering site. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUY SOME BUTTERFLY PLANTS, SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE AND SAY GOOD BY TO THESE AMAZING CREATURES AS THEY BEGIN THEIR LONG MIGRATION!!
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Sandi Douglas and Pete Espinosa-Michel, Owner/Operators
Douglas-Michel Butterflyplants
P.O. Box 581
Aromas, California 95004-0581
Telephone:(831)726-3626 Fax:(831)726-3626
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©2000 Douglas-Michel Butterfly Plants
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