The Autumn Glory of Milkweed

My husband and I took our bikes over to the Scotia Barrens for an afternoon walk. We'd talked about driving somewhere, but the time change confused us, we slept in, and then we had a gorgeous cooked breakfast of bacon, sunny-side-up eggs, and crispy fried potatoes. By that time, it was sort of too late to go anywhere far. We knew darkness would be creeping up on us far earlier than expected at the other end of things. So we decided to stay local.

We parked our bikes by the parking lot and walked past my pond, which has been running quite low indeed this fall. I typically like to get some fun colorful reflection shots on it, using the autumn leaves to create impressionist dreams. But there isn't enough water for that; I've gotten zippo fall reflection shots on it. And now the leaves are mostly down. Crunch, crunch, crunch. That's them, underfoot. Nobody goes ANYWHERE silently this time of year.

We walked to the top of the ridge, and looked down the row of electric pylons, and enjoyed the day. It became warmer than I expected, and I was glad I hadn't bothered with a jacket, just a long-sleeve knit cotton shirt, with a button-shirt over top. On goes the top shirt. Off goes the top shirt. On goes the top shirt. It was that kind of day. But it was lovely.

We had big plans for our afternoon meal, which was going to be steak with macaroni and cheese. Followed by football. So we spent a few hours in the Barrens and then we made our way back home. Walked down the hill to our bikes, got on them, headed for home. (Public service notice: the ticks are out. Plan accordingly.)

There are stands of milkweed at the intersection of Shanelly Drive and Lutz Lane. They're on BOTH sides of the road, and on this day, they were lit for glory. There is a special place in my heart for milkweed; it is the ONLY food that the little monarch caterpillars will eat. There are toxins in it that make the caterpillars poisonous, so predators avoid them. So there's that.

But the milkweed floss at this time of year is just full of its own additional kinds of magic. The floss - what is it made of, that it shines like that? The plants were lit up like lightbulbs in the afternoon light. If you touch them, they fly away on the wind, carrying their seeds aloft, ready to populate new lands.

I took several dozen pictures of the milkweed. I couldn't help it. I'm a girl obsessed. The shot above includes the floss, which is like angel hair. Did you know that milkweed floss was used in military life jackets in World War II, and is credited with saving thousands of lives? Yeah, that too!

I've also made sure to include a seed pod in the lower part of the photo. The seeds are an OCD person's dream. The seeds are tucked in orderly rows, and the textures are fantastic. If you see them, you'll want to touch them. Go ahead! Reach out! I did. I am a tactile sort of girl. (Insert obligatory Jurassic Park II reference here: Jeff Goldblum, "Look, she has to TOUCH it! She can't not touch!")

I've gone on enough about milkweed. Let me add just one more thing: if you are on the fly path of monarchs, PLANT SOME MILKWEED in your yard! Monarch butterflies need both host and nectar plants. Let's get out there and show some love. Let's grow those butterflies!

It is my custom to include a soundtrack song, and here is one I just stumbled across. My husband and I were watching a bit of public TV on Saturday night, and we came across Eric Ian Farmer, who I gather is sort of a local performer, and the show was fantastic. 

I don't know if the linky will work for you, but let me include two things: one, a link to the half-hour show, The Local Groove Presents Eric Ian Farmer and Friends. The song is Love Thing, Part 2, and it starts about 15 minutes into the show. I've also got a straight YouTube linky for it, but the version from the TV show includes two female backup singers who make it extra-special. Enjoy!