As we wrap up the year 2020, we look forward to the chaos ending, and the moment we can begin our count down of the seconds to midnight and cheer in 2021. Happy New Year!
Another way we traditionally celebrate what's to come is to set out a few new goals. These goals, Resolutions, officially, tend to get a bit complicated and overwhelming. Before the end of January, most of us know exactly what happened to that list of goals. We threw it away.
Our little corner of the world
2021 can be a year of success if we center our goals on areas and activities we can control. Some of us have gardens; others may have smaller areas such as yards, porches, patios, or balconies. These are good places to work on goals that are calming, pretty, and beneficial to the world.
Invite more butterflies into your world
You'll feel better and help make the world a better place. That's the Butterfly Effect we're talking about. But any mention of The Butterfly Effect generally stirs up chaos and confusion even in the scientific world, so we took the liberty of making some Learning Fields changes:
Small changes can lead to bigger, better outcomes,
If we do the right things from the beginning, we can better control the results,
If something doesn't seem right, it may create problems someplace else,
Taking care of small details can tip the balance without being identifiable,
If we want a different outcome, we must do something different.
Resolutions Submitted By: Leta Caplinger, Master Gardener and Board member of The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing.
Resolutions for Butterfly Gardeners
Read a book about local butterflies
Learn to identify caterpillars
Plant native host plants
Plant more native host plants
Learn to identify local butterflies
Go to Mount Magazine State Park for Butterfly Count
Plant some early blooming flowering plants
Plant some late-blooming flowering plants
Do not use BT or other insecticides near the butterfly plants
Read some more books about butterfly gardening
More about The Butterfly Effect and chaos
In A Sound of Thunder, bestseller author Ray Bradbury tells the futuristic story of big-game hunter Eckels buying and going on a safari trip sixty million years in the past to bag a T Rex. It takes just one wrong step off the path in the prehistoric jungle to crush out the life of one tiny, harmless butterfly.
Upon returning to their time, they discover the world has changed. Altered language, an evil dictator, and more. "Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels. His mind whirled. It couldn't change things. Killing one butterfly couldn't be that important! Could it?
With our butterflies and other pollinators in danger of losing their homes and resting places during migration, no matter how we define or interpret The Butterfly Effect, if we don't do more than just something, Planet Earth will lose much more than a few butterflies.
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Thank you for your time!
I hope you enjoyed this and are ready to get started with your project to grow your Butterfly Garden into a more wonderful habitat for native and migrating butterflies. Happy New Year.
By the way, our Demonstration Gardens are absolutely Winter Wonderful. If you haven't visited The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing, any season is a good season!
I'd love to hear from you! It's easy: carmentaylor175@yahoo.com