monarch conservation – Page 6

From Green to Yellow Overnight. Branch Fence Fail. Drought Takes Over. Ode to a Beagle.

It has been a rough few weeks. The vibrant green of verdant hills has given way to the crunch of yellow straw. Yellow hits the eyes much differently than green. When green, the light is almost nourishing, energizing. While still beautiful, yellow light is blanching, dry like cotton balls in the mouth.

The drought has had a significant impact on the entire ranch, and it is just the beginning of May. While last year the a’wuu’atee (butterfly food) needed watering only once per week, with a few exceptions, the majority of plants will now need watering twice per week this year. I accounted for double watering for about 1/4 of the plants in my rain water budget, and had captured more than enough for a summer and fall watering schedule. However, with the earlier start to irrigation, the leak in Tank 1 resulting in loss of 30% of that water and 90% of the plants taking additional water, including some of the plants from last year, I may not have enough. The late storm in April helped refill Tank 3, because it was still hooked up to the gutters. Unfortunately, I had already taken down the piping system for Tanks 1 and 2 from the gutters. There was no refill, which would have helped greatly for Tank 1.

An earlier photo of the hill spring. It is the darker green in the center top portion of the photo. Note the very light green, almost white, around the darker. This is it shrinking in size.

The humidity is so low so often that the moisture gets sucked out of the troughs, the soil and the plants. I have not seen anything like this in years. The hill spring (photo above), where I planted one of the big leaf maples, is already drying up. This spring typically stays green through the summer and dries in the fall. I knew it would be a dry year, so I prioritized planting within the moist soil of the spring and also in the green portions of the arroyo. I am not sure that will be enough help. The soil is clay in both those locations and requires the spring moisture to absorb into the hardened soil for it to benefit the plants. Otherwise, it is just a location with deep fissures with limited moisture retention. I am watering the arroyo twice a week now and am concerned that the water simply “falling through the cracks” with limited absorption into the hard soil. I am still monitoring this site to make a final assessment of benefit or not.

Speaking of the Arroyo…

Success at the arroyo is mixed. This seems to be a place where a variety of spiders and bugs live – which is wonderful – but not for the red bud. A large spider moved into the redbud gopher basket. There was one hole, then two, and now three. How do I know it is a spider hole? I saw a very large spider come out to check out why there was water entering its hole. There was nothing I could do to save the redbud. Over the weeks, it died. I hate to think what happened to its roots. RIP redbud. You looked so beautiful.

There is still some green in the arroyo. It is all on the north-facing slope. My theory of planting on that side has paid off so far. The plants, with the exception of a purple sage that did not transfer well, are doing well. This is likely to change fairly rapidly. I have been watching with trepidation the growing number of grasshoppers in the arroyo. They are small now, and mostly on the grass. However, they grow massive and eat everything in their path. They are a plague. We have not had them at plague levels for many years. They have always been around, just not to such a degree as I have seen them in the far past – where they ate paint off the house. I don’t know what I will do if they eat all the butterfly plants.

Spring Creek is Still Flowing and Flowering

Yellow, white and purple flowers still blooming in the Spring Creek

Fortunately, there is still some water on the land. The spring is still flowing in Spring Creek. As a result, the growth is still happening organically. The cattle were moved out, which has allowed a variety of plants to grow where there is no fencing. The creek is also protected from the winds we get on the hill top. When it is windy, I don’t see butterflies. However, in the creek, there were many blue coppers. They are so beautiful and have quickly become one of my favorites.

I purchased more Wedge-Loc corners to build fence around the Spring Creek. The branch fence was breached three weeks ago when the cattle were still here. Using the Wedge-Loc system will require less work over the long term and allow me to protect more linear feet of creek. I think the branch fencing is still useful. It is natural, beautiful, creates habitat and does act as a barrier. However, if you don’t have a group of people or regular ranch hand helping maintain it, you can lose the protection-ability as grass gets less plentiful and the pressure to browse it becomes greater for the cattle.

Two oak seedlings inside branch fence survive and thrive

We have a proliferation of white lupine, yellow mariposa lilies and purple brodiaea. Also near the creek, one showy milkweed and one narrowleaf milkweed have returned from the original 7 planted in 2020 that the wild pigs turned up. They look strong and healthy. One golden current and a mugwort survived the breach of the branch fence. The mulefat is coming back after being browsed a while back. There are other plants I have not been able to ID yet. I planted the riparian Xerces kits along this creek – so I am not quite sure what things are. I think, for most of the plants, there needs to be more moisture, a slight flooding event, to get the roots going. I believe my limited watering is not enough to get them started. Maybe next year. Happily, the oak seedlings made it through the browsing. They all look strong and healthy.

Providing TA and Creating a Migration Pathway

A small portion of the Resource Conservation District grant is helping expand habitat through public education and provision of plants. Already, two people expanded existing habitat on their home parcels. I have also been thinking about migration pathways. Friends have ranches in a straight line south west and north east of me. How incredible it would be if there was a large supply of milkweed and nectar plants all in a line on the monarchs’ route through Mariposa County. I contacted both individuals, and they said they were interested. I performed site visits and helped select plant locations. Both locations are in moist areas of their ranches. One is in a wash below a spring. The other is a wet section of a creek that runs through the property. I included them in a Xerces Kit grant request. Ideally, we will have two riparian hedgerow kits per site. On my site, I will extend planting along the Spring Creek and possibly along Odom Creek.

April Rain Helped but Not for Long

A. Californica – A Bumper Crop!

One of the bright, happy occurrences this season has been the proliferation of California Milkweed. Last year, this magical plant appeared out of nowhere. I had counted three communities and populations of 13, 7 and 2. This year, I found four communities with populations of 16, 13, 2 and 1. I plan to hike to all of the sites to perform a final count. The site closest to the house ended up with 13! You may recall 4 weeks ago I lamented that I had only counted 6. Again, these plants are magic – popping up out of nowhere.

Ode to a Beagle

You were a bother with your insolence, smell and patio pooping

and daily disappearance from olfactory compelled sniffs and snooping.

My dad dropped you off unequipped for your destructive self-direction

We locked stares, quarreled and chased — but upon some reflection…

It is clear that your bay drove coyotes away.

Your epic snore made me, for quiet, thankful more.

Those ears velveteen changed dog haters from mean.

The prolific fur you shed made me clean under the bed, and

the rugs you destroyed are now redeployed

as outside paths, wool pave, along the well-worn trail toward all my pets’,

and your

grave.

a. Californica Obsession and Fencing – So Much Work…

The motherlode of *a. Californica*. Such a special plant!

a. Californica (a.c.) has become my absolute favorite butterfly plant. There are so many I love, but a.c. take the prize. Not only do they look like they are prehistoric, they have the most gorgeous flower and scent. In fact, several of the a.c. plants were blooming and beginning to emit their stunning scent. This is a little early as compared to last year. Things seem to be a bit off this year.

On my monitoring hike this past week, I found 14 a.c. plants on the north slope. This is one more in that community than last year. I found a third plant in the area that is closest to the house. We are getting closer to last year’s numbers, but are still significantly deficient (3 vs. 7 last year). The third community remains even at 2 this year (and 2 last year). I am finding larger plants too. This is really good because caterpillars need considerable plant material to make it to their chrysalis stage. One day, we will have the ability to transfer smell through the computer. I would love to be able to send you some of a.c.’s fragrance.

I am seeing many species of butterfly, but no monarchs yet. Today there were three white sulfur butterflies fluttering around as I watered in Site 2.

I saw a yellow butterfly today that was slightly larger than the whites. It was not like a swallowtail. It was much smaller. It moved much too quickly, and I had no hope of getting any type of photo – even a bad one. I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with a painted lady butterfly. She was much slower and stayed on the plant in front of me for quite some time. The butterfly had a little more black in the middle, but was unmistakably a painted lady.

Fencing is always a barrier to expansion into other places on the ranch. In addition to being expensive, the work is so difficult to do on my own. Fortunately, David said he would help me with the fence around Site 2. David is stronger and has more leverage with his height. It is much quicker when he is helping. I have been wanting to plant in the arroyo for some time, so this was really exciting for me.

David is a very strong man! I am so grateful for him.

The posts are all set up. We decided to use Wedge Loc tools to construct corners. It is not as strong as a traditional corner that is cemented in, but it can do the job for a temporary fence. I was going to use barbed wire, but decided it would be too difficult to get the tension I need on it – given the corners are not in cement. I really don’t like working with barbed wire anyway. I had some extra no climb fencing at the shed, but opted to purchase new fencing. This way, I would have enough, and it would go faster. The cows are returning to my side on Wednesday, and I need to the fence complete by then – but David ran out of energy and time.

Fortunately, my neighbor, Ric Wetzel, was able to provide some supplemental help again. He drove over in his new, fancy, super useful all electric Polaris and hauled the fencing down to Site 2. He assessed the situation, returned on Monday afternoon to help me install the field fence and worked with me until the sun was down. Thank you Ric!! It all went so much faster with a second person – but oh my – what a lot of work. That Polaris is like driving on a cloud. You cannot feel the bumps – and on a ranch, that is saying a lot.

Cage around the maple tree in the hillside spring area

I took down the cage from around the redbud since it would be included inside the new fence structure and repurposed the entire thing for the newly planted maple tree I placed in the hillside spring down flow area. I really wanted to get some trees in place on the north side. Ron assured me that these Big Leaf Maple trees are native to California and are drought tolerant. He said they can be found all over Southern California and growing in arroyos too. I was sold and am excited to see what they do.

Nest – blown down with branch still attached

The wind has been fairly steady with some gusts. When I returned to the house on Saturday, I saw this gorgeous blue egg (see photo above) just sitting on the driveway. It was amazing. Then, David found the nest, still attached to the branch it was on. We thought this was a robin’s egg and next. The were not next to each other, but near enough. The first call I made was to Melinda Barrett from the County Resource Conservation District. She sent me an article that discussed that people should leave eggs alone when they find them out of the nest. Not only are the eggs likely not viable, but if you had the extraordinary amount of time it takes to raise a bird baby, the bird could never be returned to the wild since it would not have the benefit of the bird parents educating on finding food, flying, etc. I put the egg back where I found it opting for less work and heartbreak.

The wildflowers are still blooming. They are getting less and less as the ground dries out more rapidly. There was not sufficient rain to grow the grass tall, and the existing plants are beginning to die off and leave a crunch under foot. Cattle are being culled in anticipation of a lean feed year. The water in the Swale Pond is almost gone, and the Spring Creek is down to a trickle. There are still some deeper stands of water in Odom Creek, but that will be gone soon except at the spring. Rainwater Tank 1 had a slow leak. David fixed it, but I lost an eight of the water before it could be fixed. I am nervous about what the future will bring in terms of the drought. I decided to cut back by half on the plants I will plant this spring. I want to be sure I have enough rainwater to get all of us through this dry time.

On a positive note, David and I both received our first vaccine dose. We are planning for the second dose to take us out of commission for a few days. I will water on Thursday before I get the next shot in anticipation of this. Life, and death, are all around us. I am grateful to just be present, right now, in this place, being a part of something that is beneficial, loving and breathing life into the world.

More a. Californica Spotted and Wildflower Whiplash

*a. Californica* on the hill east of the house

I always let out a whoop of excitement when I see these remarkable a. Californica plants. They look so prehistoric to me, and the smell is heaven. The air of magic around these plants is only enhanced by its rapid “see them out of nowhere” growth. Last year, I shared that I found three communities of these plants – one near the house with seven plants, one on the tall south facing hill to the north of the house with thirteen plants, and one on a hill to the east of the house with two plants. I have been monitoring each location. The east hill has two plants. The site near the house has two plants (so far), and the north hill had two plants. In the last post, I suggested that it may still be early to see many of these plants, and I was right. The plants have been appearing about a week after my first sighting.

Signs of the Drought Apparent

Spring Creek is still running, though just slightly. As visible in the first photo above, the eddy has receded several feet – and this is without cows drinking from it in almost two weeks. My trial mini beaver dam analog did not do much. I will try harder in the future. The Swale Pond receded 10″ in just one day. Note the moist area exposed and the water line in the second photo. The big spring in line on Odom Creek is still full. The creek is running pretty good. It was dry for quite some time in the early winter despite precipitation. The soil was so thirsty that there was little standing (or moving) water until late February. Not pictured are the increasing number of dry spots visible throughout the area. I have already begun irrigating. This is a three weeks earlier than last year.

Wildflower Whiplash – they are everywhere!

Stunning hill of purple (Blue Dick flowers)

Blue Dicks, Popcorn Flower, Fiddleneck and Lupine proliferate insanely this year. The hills are washed in strokes of color – orange, purple, white, yellow. It is really stunning. You almost get whiplash swinging your head around in every direction to see the colors and flowers. The drought is partly responsible as well as the darker winter we had. The grass did not get the best timing for water and had less sunlight with which to grow. This made room for the wildflowers to sprout and not have to compete/be blocked out by the European grasses. While this is not good for the cattle business, it really is extraordinarily beautiful, amazing for pollinators and quite the olfactory experience. If I could share the smell with you through this blog, I would. Nectar is heavy in the air and the sound of all sorts of bees is an ongoing, loud undulating hum. My photos just do not convey this outlandish beauty.

Milkweeds Growing Well

Xerces and Monarch joint Venture each push that milkweed is the most needed plant to be planted for monarch habitat. I am very happy to say that I have many milkweeds emerging strong and healthfully. Most are narrowleafs. However I found one showy coming back at Site 8 and, of course, the a. Californica. I have not seen any of the woolly pods I planted come back this year. The gopher hit them hard twice last year. I was happy to see some narrowleafs come back from the wild pig attack at Site 8. They did not reemerge last year, and I thought I may have lost them completely. I have growth that I can see in four of the seven milkweeds planted there last year. Of the nine I planted in the raised bed, only three have returned from the massacre by the gopher that sneaked into the bed. It does look like the CA fuchsia is reemerging. That would be incredible if so. We still have a deer grass and a yerba santa that survived the attack.

Other Notable Updates

There is a tremendous variety of growth in and around the branch fence area. I have not seen any of the milkweed I planted from the Xerces kits emerge yet. The area is more shaded, and the showy milkweed seems to be taking longer to emerge. It seems as though another creature is making its way into the branch fence area. I’ve seen some of the fencing fallen down and soil disturbance. It isn’t a calf since they are on the south part of the ranch. I did not see any scat or tracks to be able to know. It would be useful and fun to set up a game camera. I have one, but have not gotten around to doing this. It would be interesting to see who is coming around in the night (or day when I am not looking).

At Site 2 in the arroyo, the plants are off to a good, healthy start. I did see considerable gopher activity near the site. I found the hose covered in gopher mounds in several locations along its route from the water tank to the arroyo. Getting a stainless steel hose was a specifically so gophers could not bite through it and cattle could not crush it. It will be tested now. The cattle are due to return at the end of the week.

I have been seeing white butterflies with a pale orange throughout their wings. They spook easy, and I do not have a good photo to share. I was able to get two pictures from far away, but the pixelation when blown up is terrible. I did not include them here.

It appears that the cattle pushed their way through the barbed wire to browse the deergrass. I found one of the wires shifted up and the bunch of grass trimmed low. It is possible it could be a deer. I have seen evidence of their presence toward the more forested portion of the ranch. My neighbor said he saw one too the other day. There were no deer droppings or hair on the wire – but it is a possibility.

Spring is always a time of hope. Plants are in the ground and doing well before gophers, heat, pigs or any other misfortune finds them. David and I received our first vaccine shot last Friday. We have hope too that we will be able to do more away from home and see family and friends that we have only seen on a video screen. We miss hugs and being with the people we love. Let us all cling to as much hope as possible and the joy it brings. We do not know what lies ahead, but for now, I will celebrate the possibilities of togetherness and the arrival of the monarchs.

Let the Blooms Begin!

It truly is amazing how blooms happen. Overnight, they just appear. Although I have been seeing the stems for a couple weeks, I woke up Saturday morning to a proliferation of purple. In fact, there are many plants sprouting blooms or new leaves. Early nectar is an important habitat element for monarchs as they begin their journey from the coast northeast. I say this as if it is a sure thing. The truth is – the monarchs may never come. The Xerces overwintering count was less than abysmal. There were almost no monarchs overwintering. From millions to under 2,000 individuals, this is a major crisis. I keep having this fantasy that they are adapting to climate change and habitat loss, that their course is shifting, that they have chosen moderate habitats inland. It is simply a fantasy that helps keep me moving forward, a trick of the brain. While it is possible, it is not likely in numbers anywhere near the millions. So, I keep moving forward knowing that my work also impacts other pollinators – butterflies, bees, flies and really…everything.

I was so pleased to see that the majority of plants I planted are settling in, beginning to leaf-out. The buckeye is really leafing out. The cottonwood is still dormant, but I am excited to see that tree thrive. The redbud seedling is beginning to leaf-out. I am really excited to see it in bloom. If she likes it here, I will plant more. I am really excited about this shrub as well as the big leaf maple I just planted over the weekend. Ron Allen (mariposanativeplants.com) included the maple as a good option for pollinators in my latest order. I will plant another when the seedling is ready. Planting trees is crucial for carbon sequestration and helping reduce climate change. However, it is important to consider water availability when choosing what tree and where to plant. Ron said the big leaf maple is indigenous to California and is found in Southern California tolerating drier climates. With this in mind, I decided to purchase and plant it.

I chose to plant the maple along the arroyo near the swale pond. I plan to install more swales along the arroyo in the future, and felt that there would be sufficient moisture to maintain the tree(s) over the long term. Since it did not have leaves yet, I did not feel an urgent need to immediately place protection around it. I had a lot to do this weekend. I will build a cage around it this week. I already gathered the materials so they are ready when I have a two hour time slot.

Loaded and ready to go with fencing equipment on standby

All of the first set of plants are planted. I created a new milkweed/nectar plant “island” near the southeast corner of the house enclosure. I added the mugwort to the plantings of Site XR1.

I also took the time to monitor and weed around old plantings, especially the Xerces hedgerow kits. Some planted areas needed significant weeding. Several revealed some new growth way, way down at the dirt level. I am not sure if they are the plants I planted. Many were dormant at the time of planting. All I can say is that the sprouts look different than the typical grass I am familiar with, so I did not pull them. The riparian kit plants, that I can see, appear to be thriving especially the golden currents and mulefat. There is also an aster that retained its leaves all winter (i.e. nothing ate it).

On Friday, I saw two types of butterflies. They came and went so fast that I did not have time to attempt a photo. One was larger and black. The other was lighter, not quite white. Needless to say, I was overjoyed. It is proof that what I am doing is working. We also had a large number of European honeybees and a large bumble bee. They are loving the arugula flowers. Still no a. California, but I continue to look. Also, I am improving my knowledge by attending the Community Alliance wit h Family Farmers annual conference. There are some great topics, including carbon sequestration, composting, indigenous ag and many others. Check out the conference page.

Technical Support

A very small portion of the grant I helped write with Melinda Barrett of the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District (RCD) is for technical assistance helping others plan, choose and implement planing of pollinator friendly plants, particularly those appealing to monarch butterflies. I am leveraging my experience, with the expertise of Ron Allen and Melinda Barrett, to help connect people, land, plants and butterflies. My friend Carolin has been following the Walappu’ ‘Uuchuthuu posts on Facebook and wanted to participate. Ron and I helped her pick good plants for the monarchs and her location in Catheys Valley. She purchased some plants and got them into the ground right away. Carolin had some help though! Two of her children and the family fur-child helped too. See their photos below – and cuteness alert!

Astrid and her younger brother Siggi (clearly cold) help give the monarchs a future

Monarch plantings are a phenomenal way to engage with family and teach children about their role as stewards in this world. A big “thank you”to Carolin and her family for jumping in as change makers and for sharing these great photos. Hopefully, there will be many more families and individuals participating in planting a’woo’atee (butterfly food). If you want to be a part of this change making project, contact me through the “contact” page on this blog.

Rain Comes – More Needed

There were several days of rain over the last two weeks, with two continuous days of rain last week that were the real soakers. In those two days, we received 4.5 inches. It has been much needed. We are still in drought though, with a dry year predicted. Rain years are calculated beginning on October 1. So far, this rain year we have had 7.625 inches of rain. According to historic documentation, the average precipitation is 14 inches in Hornitos. We still have a way to go, and hopefully we go beyond that. The worse year of the five year drought this past decade was 9 inches. I don’t want to see that again. It was horribly dry, and that was the year the large spring on the mid section of the ranch finally dried up. I never thought I would see that. Our cattleman even had to haul in water.

Heather reconnects pipe that had become disconnected

The winds were so terrible that my rain water catchment system failed. My husband and I went out three times to fix it. In a storm where the tank should have been full, it is only at half its capacity. So disappointing! The first occasion, the pipe had split in its mid section. The second occasion, the pipe had blown away from the downspout in one place and had disconnected in the mid section again. The third time, I found that the tank exit pipe had somehow gotten unglued and had been leaking the entire time. When I banged on it, it came completely off and the precious water collected began gushing out. I re-nested the pipe back over the other with all my strength. I got soaked in the process. Fortunately, my husband was out there with me that time, and ran to get the wet glue, which can still stick pipe together even when wet. He ultimately fixed it. The ground was soggy, and it was difficult to balance the ladder on the decline, especially in the wind. I almost fell off one time. I was able to keep the ladder upright as I followed the inertia and “walked” it down hill to a solid place before getting off. I got soaked on that one too. All I can do is hope that we get more rain without ferocious winds to fill the tank. I will need this water to keep the plants alive through the long, dry time.

After the storm, I hiked around the property to check on the plantings. With the two straight days of rain and wind, I wanted to be sure the cottonwood and cage were alright as well as the plantings and branch fence and Odom Creek plantings with brush pile protections. I planted most of the plants close enough to the creek bed to get a soaking during high water, but not so close that the roots were in water all the time in the winter. I looked at the neighbor’s cottonwoods and my own buckeyes to see where they were successful in relation to the creek bed and followed that example.

Fortunately, the two days of rain did not flood the spring creek and take the branch fence with it. There were a couple filler branches that moved downstream with the flow. I ended up replacing only three branches to fill a couple bare spots in the fence. Overall, I was really happy with the outcome. There are a few bulls on the ranch now along with the cows (It is that time of year for love.), and I have some concerns that the bulls will just push through it to get to the long blades of grass on the other side. I will keep watching.

I also checked Odom Creek. There, I thought the flow would be greater with more of a chance that the brush piles over the willows would be washed away. To my surprise, it did not look as though the water reached the plants on the east side. Although the ground was wet, the dirt did not look dark as if the water line reached them. The water clearly soaked the willow on the west side. Each brush pile was intact. All plants were present and accounted for – four willows and one mule fat.

Other Monitoring

Looking for a. California sprouts with Andy and Bibi

I have also been checking the a. Californica site closest to the house for sprouts. Last year, there was no rain in February, which I am thinking stunted grass grown allowing the a. California milkweed to get a head start on growing. This year, with rains in February, I am concerned that the grass may grow faster than the milkweed. I want to watch for its remarkable leaves and trim the grass in that area to give it a chance. That early milkweed will be important for the monarchs.

Planning for Spring Planting

Ron Allen, UC Master Gardener and Co-Owner of Mariposa Native Plants

Ron came over to discuss the next plant order. I asked for his guidance on my plan and showed him the areas where I was thinking of focusing this Spring. He also got a chance to see what was doing well, and what didn’t make it. Overall, things looked good. I placed an order for 89 plants. We are continuing to go big for the monarchs.

Already wildflowers have bloomed. I see blue dick stems and poppy leaves sprouted. The primrose never stopped blooming. Spring is around the corner. I am going to plant anything I can for February. The milkweeds won’t be ready, but there should be some nectar plants available then.

Pretty little wildflowers already blooming

The storm made for some dramatic photos and clouds. I end my blog with some select shots that I hope you enjoy.

Things Are Ok

Right after the first of the year, I received a call from family that a younger relative’s health was not good. I helped them think through their issue, which lead to an Emergency Department visit and ultimately a five day hospital stay. My family member was very ill, so my husband and I dropped everything to make the eight hour drive, carefully per Public Health guidelines, to go help. Fortunately, I had planted most of the surplus plants Deedee brought me from a native nursery (see December 29th post). They all needed to get into the ground to benefit from winter rains. There were about six left. They would have to wait.

We stayed until my family member was ok, which was two weeks. That was two weeks in a city. Although I love where they live, there is nothing like being home, especially when home is a beautiful, rural ranch where you can see the stars, smell the soil and the loudest noises are the song birds chattering to one another. I was happy to be back in my natural habitat.

I hiked the ranch checking on all my plantings and generally seeing what was new. The plantings were still ok, and the branch fences were holding. Sadly, all of the washes were dry. The swale pond did not even have a wet spot. Odom Creek was still not running; it was only wet at the large spring and within a short distance, due to the slight water flow. Even more of a trickle was the little spring on the spring creek. It flowed slowly from the spring to just the other side of the pooled water. Evidence of the drought was clear. When I got back to the house, also site 9, I watered all of the newer plantings from before I left.

My first priority was to plant the buckeye, redbud and cottonwood trees.

Buckeye planted where it will get some shade from the oak.

I planted the buckeye as part of Site 9, which is ever expanding with all the hedgerows and nectar plants. The redbud is now the lone plant in Site 2, at the base of the spring that flows, subterranean to the arroyo. The cottonwood is in Site 8.

The cows were gone at this time, and were supposed to return in a few days. The redbud was placed out in the field outside of the fenced-in area. It would need protection in order to grow and thrive. The morning a day before the cattle were to return, I saw cows on the hills of the ranch. They were here early. Ack! I had all the supplies available, so I put on my overalls, hooked the cart to the quad, loaded the cart and headed to Site 2 to make the protective cage before I had to start my job.

I chose to use four t-posts with no-climb fencing attached to it. I like to use previously used posts for these projects, posts that are generally bent or messed up in some way. This leaves the nice posts for fencing needs. It can take a little more time to work with bent posts to get them into the ground, but it worked. I chose a thick gauge no-climb fencing from my leftover/ used fencing stock. Instead of a fence tool, I choose to use needle-nose pliers. They have wire cutting capability and grasping capability. The smaller size and lower weight is easier for my hands to work with. They are a great all- around tool that all homes, no matter the location, should have in their toolboxes. Of course, I brought my trusty t-post pounder and medium gauge smooth wire (you don’t want it too thin or too thick. Thin breaks too easy. Thick is too difficult to work with. It doesn’t twist well.). When you pound t-posts in, you should also use ear protection. Admittedly, I forgot to bring my ear protection. I figured it was only four posts and decided to not go back up to the house to get a set.

I did not realize I had an audience while I was working in the field – perhaps due to the lack of that ear protection and the t-post pounding still clinking in my ears. I saw one of my girls get up and move to the west. I looked up, and there they were – a small herd of cows and calves watching me work. After they noticed the dogs, they decided to keep moving along. The girls made sure they kept a wide berth from my location.

Finally, the cage was built. On the way back up the hill to the house, my cart hitch gave out and the cart separated from the quad and began rolling back down the hill. Fortunately, I had already made it about halfway up. The incline was not as great in that area, and the cart didn’t go too far. By hand, I hauled the cart the rest of the way up the hill. Then, I walked back down the hill to get the quad and got back to the house with 15 minutes before I had to start work. Success!

Cold weather with snow not quite to our elevation

All the major plants are in the ground, and it was just in time before the first really cold weather. Snow did not quite reach my elevation, but there has been frost in the morning. As I write this, the next cold storm is on its way here. The wind has picked up mightily, pushing and gusting. I imagine it will begin howling through the crevices of the house as the rains begin later tonight.

Things are ok here for now, but we will see what this next weather system brings and what butterflies come this Spring. The official Xerces butterfly count is in. There were less than 2,000 adults seen. It is a crushing blow. I hope the habitat I am installing will contribute in some way to helping their numbers grow, but we are only one small part of a much larger ecosystem on which the butterflies depend. I can only dream that there are tens of thousands of butterflies over wintering inland in areas not yet discovered.

2020 In Review and Looking Forward

Each morning I fall in love with a depth that fills every inch of my body and outside of it forming a halo of energy that pounds like my heart but with more of a tingle, tingle, tingle than a thump, thump, thump. The land calls to me, calling me home to a place I only remember far back, buried within my DNA. The soil, with its smell, moisture and bugs, is a happy place for me, one that comforts me like a wool blanket or favorite childhood stuffed toy. I am grateful to be here – to be a steward to this place.

Multiple days of rain have finally come, which is wonderful for the plants. I have had some well-deserved rest (despite having to plant all the plants Deedee brought). As the end of the year nears, it is a good time for reflection and planning.

Past: Plant as many plants as possible and enough will survive. Choose a variety of species to accommodate as many pollinators and types of butterflies. Water more than you think. Use stainless steel mesh gopher shields in non-creek areas. Expect heartbreaking losses, but keep moving forward.

2021: Add more rainwater storage. Plant more plants. Add trees. Add fencing and water slowing features in the drainage and spring creek, such as a beaver dam analog. Write more grants. Begin the community tech support program, and hire a young person to help. Reconnect with the elementary school in July for student education beginning in the Fall. I am convinced we will all be in a better situation and can return to being in-person.

Updates

The branch fence is holding. Cow pies were all around the fence, and fortunately there was no breech.

With the rain, the grass is growing again. The cattleman has begun the rotation cycle. The cows are on my side of the ranch for two weeks, then will move to the south end. I will be paying close attention to the height of the grass in the areas of the heartleaf milkweed to ensure it is low enough to give the milkweed a chance to emerge. I am so excited to see if more grow. I also plan to mow the hilltop where I have most of my plantings to ensure greater nectar plant emergence. In years past, I allowed the grass to grow tall and then used it as soil cover when it was mowed. While there were still wildflowers that emerged, I am going to try something different to see if more wildflowers grow. I was encouraged by the heartleaf milkweed. This will be the first year we continuously mow.

The branch covers for the willow tree plantings are still intact as are the plants. They will get more moisture this week, which will help them establish well.

We have a solid forecast for rain. Thus far, we have received just over 2″ total of rain since October 1. Sunday, I walked the ranch choosing sites for the cottonwood and buckeye trees that Deedee gave me. The cottonwood may be planted in the arroyo near Site 1 down slope from the hillside spring. They are growing in a similar drainage on my neighbor’s place. The buckeye will be planted on the west facing slope just up stream on the spring creek from Site XR2. The cows seem to leave all the other buckeyes alone on Odom Creek, so I am not planning to fence around this tree. I will check with the biologists to get their opinion on my site choices before planting.

The sun is rising on a new year and each day provides a renewed opportunity for benefiting our relations. If humanity were to make a New Year’s resolution, I would wish for it to be that humanity reflect on what greed, anger and hatred does, how it provides nothing of benefit to anyone – and to move forward with a commitment to respect, generosity and service. This would result in us exploring and remediating our actions that decimate the Monarch and everything else. Would that not be a valuable pursuit? What a wonderful reward to see Monarchs and all other butterflies plentiful again, flitting around, tickling the hairs on our arms as they land and lift. Personally, I need to find peace within myself and move forward from this time. I do not see that path clearly yet, but I am walking that direction with my eyes open ready to learn.

Brush With Disaster

Cow break in into the enclosure – Near disaster!

I woke up Sunday morning to a cold room. I started the electric fireplace, plugged in the Christmas tree and let the dogs out the front door on the west side of the house. It was cold, so they returned quickly. I turned from the door, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and put the kettle on for tea. My husband emerged from his slumber in our room, stretched, yawned, looked outside to the east and said, “Is that a cow inside the fence?” I was opposite of him, with my view to the southeast. I only saw cattle up against the fence, but safely on the other side. I told him, “No.”, but in a split second, I scanned the other direction. Sure enough a cow was inside our enclosure – the enclosure that provides protection for over 100 butterfly plants.

Instead of panicking, I jumped into my boots and and thew my jacket on all the while David telling me to stay calm, that we could replant is she ate the plants. I more rapidly sashayed than ran outside. The cold was palpable since I was still in my shorty pajamas. There is a distinctive smell to the cold. If only there was more moisture and a little colder temperature, we would have had snow. The first frost of the season was on the ground, and the crunch of my step was audible as I carefully navigated the cow out of the enclosure. She was lively and not pleased about being asked to leave the prime, untouched (by cow) grass. I had to be very delicate. She was easily pressured and responded to even a wide berth being given. When you move cattle around, you get a sense for what level of distance will elicit movement and how far in one direction or another will result in the cow moving the direction you want her to go. It is a precise calculation done more by feel and observation than numbers in your head.

I had opened the east gate before herding her, so was able to move her through that gate. She stopped just on the other side of the gate, looked back at me and began to run down the hill with one buck of her back legs sending a clear communication of her complete displeasure. After closing the gate, I had to walk the fence line to see where the heck she had gotten in. All the other gates were closed. I found the breech not too far a distance from the east gate. It was at the southeast corner – a weak point that had been fixed one or two times before.

The break does not look like much, but it may shock you how agile a full grown 1,300lb cow can be – especially when there is new grass available. I asked David to fix the fence while I checked all the plants. Fortunately, it appeared as though she was only in for a short while and chose to head north from the break. Had she gone the other way, it would have been doom for my butterfly plants. Everything was intact and healthy. I let out a sigh of relief. On a ranch, there is always something.

Xerces Biologist Visits

As I have mentioned many times, I am incredibly grateful for the expertise I have had available to me by many individuals and agencies. The Xerces Society has been a remarkable partner. Deedee Soto is a biologist with Xerces. Her expertise on plants is beyond comprehension for me as a mere mortal. She has provided helpful advice on where to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. She has also been extremely helpful in working with the NRCS on my project.

When she asked if she could use a place on the ranch to conduct a study of milkweed rhizomes, I did not hesitate to say “yes”. Last week, she showed up with equipment and a number of overstock plants from a native nursery for my project and two others in Mariposa. I was happy to take them. We walked around the hedgerow plants from the Xerces grant discussing the successes and the rough transfer of one toyon. This woman knows her stuff! I finally let her get on with her work, and I went back inside to go begin my work day. Below are photos of her rhizome project, which I hiked to this Sunday to take a look.

Still Dry

The recent storms did not drop much water here. Between the two, we received 1.25 inches. We did have some areas of standing water on the road, but the arroyos and the pond and much of the creek were still dry. The only water on the northern most side of the ranch are from the two springs – one on the spring creek and the other on Odom Creek. Fortunately, we have had dew most of the days this week. It has provided enough additional moisture to keep the grass growing. Poppies have also sprouted, which seems early.

Poppy greens in the foreground and a large clump in the background

Other Thoughts

The guys installing solar and David helping

Butterfly habitats do not occur in a vacuum. They, like everything else, are interdependent upon a healthy system. With every choice I make, I very much try to think about my impacts. Even modest shifts in the climate are devastating for many species, and we are seeing this now with the monarchs. Although I already have a solar array, I have been wanting to expand it so I can contribute more clean energy to the grid (and offset my own use). Fortunately, I have a “hook-up” in the family. My nephew works in the business. He and his colleague did my work as a side job. David and I handled getting the permit and completing the PG&E application. We saved some money by doing it this way. The panels are up, gorgeous and already producing clean energy. Thank you Ashtin and Rodney! Thanks to David for helping prep the panels and pass them up to the team.

Solar is not the only choice we all can make for a cleaner, healthier world. Saying “no” to plastic shopping bags, consuming less of everything, not using herbicides or pesticides, and planting native milkweed are all low to no cost activities that can help our incredible planet.

Besides the near disaster with the cow and the panel installation, things have been quiet. My back has had a break, and I have enjoyed walking the ranch, checking water and fence and dreaming of next year. I am looking forward to the planet alignment on Monday 12/21, the Solstice star. The raptors have been amazing. I am grateful to live here with my love, fur-babies, and all the wild creatures. To all of you out there who have been reading my blog, I wish you a beautiful holiday season filled with light and love – even if it has to be from a distance over Zoom – it is still love.

Rain = Happiness. Low Monarch Count = Heartbreak

Looking east as the sun tries to break through the rain clouds

This will be a short post today. I am overjoyed that we had rain over the weekend. When I heard the rain drops on my skylights Friday night, my heart leapt — and I am not being over dramatic. Rain is so critical to what we are trying to do here, as well as for grass growth for the cattle, that I cannot underscore my joy enough. Per my rain gauge, we had 1 inch since Friday 12/11. It has been dry, dry, dry. One inch is not much, but at least it is something. I checked the XR2 planting sites on Sunday, and there was no displacement of the branch structures protecting the plants by water or cows. Every day that the plants are not disturbed is a day that the roots can get a better hold into the ground. There was no change in water flow or volume. One inch, after such dryness, doesn’t do much but moisten the first little layer of soil. That is great, but we need deep watering over several rain events to really give the plants the best start to the Spring and fill the swale pond and creeks. The rain also means I don’t have to haul water. My back, neck, shoulders and arms get a well-deserved break.

Rainwater Status

We ended the dry time with 2,000 gallons of rainwater. This is good news. This means we have additional capacity to add plants and flex depending on rain levels. I am planning on scaling up the planting even larger next Spring and Fall, so I will still add another one or two 2,500 gallon tanks. The two empties were tied to the house and have a decent start on the capture. Tank 3, on the south end of the house, was connected even earlier, and we had the benefit of capturing rain from the last storm in addition to this. We have over 100 gallons in that one. Thanks to my husband David for putting the system together!

Heather’s poor girl’s rain water capture system – but it is effective! Tank 1 on the north side

Bad News

I hate to share this very bad news. The early counts of monarch overwintering sites show even fewer monarchs than last year. It is a horrific thought that these incredible creatures could have populations so low as to not be viable for population growth. Let’s hope for greater numbers as the count continues. It isn’t over yet – and next year we all have to triple our efforts to help.

The Branch Fence Holds + Effects of Drought Visible

As planned, cows have access to the low sloped pool adjacent to Site XR2

Hurray – the branch fence David and I worked so hard on has held. Even with cows nearby drinking from the pool, they have not intruded into the planting area. Eventually, we will fence most of the upper section of this creek and some of the lower section for habitat restoration, and drive the cattle to water at the lightly sloped pool. This will reduce erosion of the creek banks and allow all the plants that are trying to get a start to grow to maturity.

I checked the Odom Creek plants as well. All were present and accounted for.

Drought Here Again

The soil is so dry that Millie kicks up dust while walking

I have included my concerns about drought in many of my previous posts as well as the confirmation we will be in a La Niña year this year. The effects of a lack of moisture are really evident. Pathways look like bare highways with no grass growth to replace dry grass worn away from use. The creeks are dry. My neighbor’s pond is dry. All we have are the two small springs keeping some moisture going on this side of the ranch. I don’t know how my neighbor’s spring is doing; I’ve not checked. Most of the cattle left today. Tom (the cattleman) and his family drove them up the road to another leased ranch with more water. He left behind a handful of cows with small calves.

With no precipitation or morning dew, I am back to watering the plants once per week. Although I’ve added another sixty-eight plants with the Xerces kits, many of the old plants and some of the new ones are already dormant. They don’t need as much moisture as those with leaves. After watering the plants near the house, I hooked up the cart, filled the bladder with water, and delivered clean rain water to the Xerces riparian plants as well as Site 8.

The soil was happy to receive the water. I can’t say as much for my attitude. Dry conditions worry me, and I’m feeling a bit grumpy. Maybe it is that and the COVID surge too. On the heels of a contentious election as well, it is all just extremely overwhelming. Not only do I feel pained for humans, I also feel pain for all my other plant, animal, insect relations. It has become clear why that beautiful blue heron has been hanging around. He has no water. His mate has not returned to start a new family near my neighbor’s now dry pond as they typically do. He is forced into eating gophers and mice. I’m not complaining about that, but I know herons prefer water. I’ve filled all the troughs around the hilltop for his consideration and use. Fortunately, I over planned water, and still have over 2,000 gallons available. I also had Tank 3 hooked up when the small rain storm came through last month, so I have about 40 new gallons there. With a bit of forethought, attention to science, and a kindness, derived from absolute love, which by its very nature results in sharing, perhaps all of us, David, me, the plants and the heron, will be able to survive this time.