We had a great time with the Village School 3rd grade! Thanks to Ms. Shannon and the other parents who came out and helped, and thanks to Traci, the neighbor, who taught the kids about fiber arts, led them in felting their own snakes, and brought out her sheep for them to pet. Thanks, as always, to Willa for letting us come out to the farm and play at the pond and in the museum!

If you have any pictures of this field trip, please send them to me by email. I was busy leading a group, so I only got a few shots. 

Farm Animals Day 2010

What a great day we had at Farm Animals Day 2010! We didn't have any babies this year (due to lack of cages) but we did have two hens who were sitting on a clutch of 16 eggs! It took both of them together to sit on such a large nest. Willa showed it to us and it was so cool to see the mama hens- they were mad at us for disturbing them and tried to peck at Willas hand and were hissing...but they were determined to hatch out those eggs she said.

Thanks to Bruce Newhouse from NABA, I have learned recently that the flooding in Mexico that devasted the over wintering grounds of the Monarchs may not be affecting the western populations. He showed me a map of the migratory routes of the Monarch, and it turns out that the butterflies East of the Rockies are the ones that go down to Mexico, but the ones on the Western coast of the US don't migrate there. So our local populations shouldn't be too affected by the mudslides and flooding. Still, the ones on the East coast are very affected, so it's good to stay aware of what's happening for them. See our links page for the link to the great butterfly website.

Thanks Bruce!

This is sent to us by the Washington
Butterfly Association.

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Storms in Mexico
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There has been a disaster of extraordinary proportions in the heart of the monarch overwintering area. Unprecedented rainfall from 31 January - 4 February led to flooding and landslides that resulted in the loss of many lives and the near destruction of the towns of Angangueo and Ocampo, the two municipalities that serve as hubs for those visiting the monarch colonies at Sierra Chincua and El Rosario. The community of El Rosario was also hit hard with a major landslide that buried more than a dozen residents and destroyed bridges and homes. The consequences of this disaster will be felt for years by some and for a lifetime by others. Angangueo will never be the same - the one we remember before the flooding is gone.