I have a love-hate relationship with spiders. They are a mess to pick up after, leaving droppings on my floors and the outside of my house. They build webs in every corner and under chairs and furniture. And Spiders are scary.
BUT
They do so much good for the earth and are one of the most interesting living things on our planet. Spiders eat more insects than birds and bats combined, and they are valuable food source for birds and bats. Hummingbirds use spiderweb material to build their nests. The most fascinating thing about spiders are those incredible webs, and famous stories in literature are Charlotte’s Web and Arachne. Some spiders build a new nest every day, and in Ukraine Christmas spiders are good luck. Factretriever.com has put together 83 amazing facts about spiders. Read them here.
“I’m going to slash government regulations!” Candidates for office
Who is their audience for this absurdity?
This is my simple take on a very complex issue.
Many candidates for office talk about cutting regulations. What are they talking about? Why doesn’t the media ask them what regulations they want to cut? One presidential candidate wants to cut food regulations? Cut the Food and Drug Administration rules that govern food production, cleanliness, food packaging and temperature? Ridiculous!
Do we really want less regulation on financial institutions? What have we learned from Wells Fargo? Should we allow banks to cheat their customers like Wells Fargo did? I had a problem with U.S. Bank selling my credit card number to a health club. It took months to get my money back after unauthorized charges were placed on my credit card. Banks need to be regulated!
David Brooks has said, that capitalism without a moral compass is a failure. As evidenced by this presidential race, we have lost our moral compass. Capitalism/for-profit businesses should NOT be deciding what standards they want to follow. Does it work to let corporations set their own rules about polluting our water and dirting up our air when profit is a top priority? What do you think?
Regulations and standards are to keep the public safe. Sometimes rules seem extreme, but they keep us safer regulating our workplaces, food, many products, and other necessary things.
Self regulation does not work. Farmers in the United States were given a pass in the Clean Water Act. They think they can regulate themselves. Is that why the corn and soy bean belt in the United States has dangerous nitrate levels in their drinking water? Business and Republicans think regulations are too expensive. But communities, such as Des Moines, with polluted water pay enormous amounts of taxpayer money to clean their water. Smaller communities often must drink and use this dangerous water.
This is a wonderful story of farmers regulating themselves and trying new things to protect our water resources. Read it here.
Then there is the drug industry. Is there anyone that thinks their self-regulation and monopolies are working? MORE regulation is needed of the drug industry!!
It is less expensive to keep from polluting our air and water in the first place, but of course business doesn’t have to pay for the pollution and sick people they create. Five million people die from air pollution every year.
Never vote for a candidate who promises to cut regulations. They can’t be trusted with the health of people or the earth. They are not for what is good for our children, wildlife nor for the good of human beings on this planet! In the long run clean-up is more expensive than doing the right thing in the first place.
Taiwan has been struck by three typhoons in the past month. A few weeks ago Taiwan was pummeled by Typhoon Meranti with winds of 186 MPH. In July they were struck by Typhoon Nepartak. As the earth warms, most of this warming is in the oceans causing instability. Global warming is making typhoons worse.
Earlier this year I was able to travel around the island of Taiwan with my husband. The people we met were so gracious and happy, and the food fabulous. This rugged mountainous country is beautiful.
Many Motor Scooters
Because of storms hitting the east side of the island, the Pacific Ocean side, most of the people live on the west side of the island. Map of Taiwan here. My thoughts and best wishes go out to the charming people and marvelous landscapes of Taiwan. I wish Taiwan a quick recovery, and I recommend Taiwan as an interesting place to travel.
Hello to the United StatesTemples on every streetA mountainous tropical islandThese two explained the life-cycle of the purple butterfly in English
Butterflies migrate from the southern part of Taiwan over the mountains to northern Taiwan. This was a butterfly festival celebrating migration.
I am at the Minnesota State Fair talking to individuals about rain gardens and native deep-rooted plants. Native plants help absorb pollutants, keep rain water in our yards, save on watering, and are loved by bees, butterflies and birds.
Plant deep-rooted plants for pollinators and clean water.
“Today, Minnesota set the strongest rules in the nation to protect pollinators from pesticides,” said Lex Horan of Pesticide Action Network. “The plan will help ensure that bee-harming pesticides won’t be used unnecessarily, and it lays the groundwork for reducing the use of neonicotinoid seed coatings. This decision is rooted in the resounding scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to pollinators. It’s past time for state and federal decisionmakers to take action to restrict the use of bee-harming pesticides, and today Minnesota did just that.” Read the whole story here. Another story from Minnesota Public Radio.
My back yard: Cone flowers, flox, and butterfly weed
This past week my yard was part of a “Pollinator Garden Walk” led by my neighbor, a pollinator expert. We walked, biked, or carpooled to 4 neighborhood yards. All the yards had boulevard plantings, two had no turf grass,, and three yards had rain gardens. We observed lots of bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and caterpillars. Below are the ideas to attract pollinators suggested by the pollinator expert:
* Choose native and single-flowered plant varieties
* Go organic, eliminate pesticide and herbicides
* Leave areas of bare ground or loose leaf litter
* Plant milkweed
*Install a bee nesting house for mason bees and other stem-nesting bees
Cardinal flowers are happy this year with lots of rain!
I would add: Plant with diversity of flowers, bloom times, and colors.
Never use plants treated with neonicotinoids! Ask before purchase of plants.
The stickers on avocados say where they are grown. Say “No” to Mexican avocados!
I embarrassed to admit I have Mexican avocados in my refrigerator. NEVER again. According to this article monarch wintering forests are being removed to grow avocados.
Education is a good thing, and new information arrives daily. Please take this new information seriously and purchase avocados from California. Read the little sticker on the avocado to find out where they are grown. Yes, you might have to pay higher prices, but this is important to help save the monarch butterfly!
Also, inform the produce people at your local grocery that you will purchase only avocados from butterfly safe areas, which Mexico is not.
Smart consumerism may help the monarch!
Please comment with any new information you learn on monarch wintering grounds and other products we shouldn’t purchase??
An update to this post. First, I have been able to purchase avocados raised in California this past week. Second, this link about the monarch winter grounds is more hopeful. I hope you will choose only California grown avocados until we know the monarch winter grounds are safe! Thank you.
Look carefully and you might see a new butterfly. It has been exciting to have eggs and monarch caterpillars on my swamp milkweed, and painted lady caterpillars on pearly everlasting plants.
Eyed-Brown
In the past month I have been able to identify some new north land caterpillars and butterflies. Enjoy these pictures, but it is better to see the real thing rather than a picture! Get outside and observe!
Monarch CaterpillarsPainted Lady eggs and caterpillars on the pearly everlastingTwo Atlantis Fritillary on bee balmGrey Comma, a dull name for a butterfly beautyCommon Wood-nymph(wikepedia)
The luna moth grows to a wingspan of four and a half inches.
Credit: David Moskowitz
What do you know about moths? They are not the “Ick” insect you might of thought of as a child. Because most, not all, are nocturnal we might not experience them except caught in a window or spider web. The best ones I have seen are in the bathrooms of campgrounds, and they are magnificent! This is National Moth Week, so what better time to get out and see if you can find and observe a moth. This information is from http://www.livescience.com/
Seven facts about moths:
1.There are more than 11,000 species of moths in the U.S. alone.
Moths outnumber butterflies, their nearest relative, by more than 10 to 1, said Matthew Shepherd, communications director and senior conservation associate at the Xerces Society, a nonprofit organization focused on insect conservation in Portland, Ore. There are upward of 11,000 moth species in the United States alone — that’s more than all the bird and mammal species in North America combined.
A moth the size of a pencil tip.
Credit: David Moskowitz
2. Moths make great mimics.
Moths are notorious for their ability to camouflage to keep from being eaten.
3. Moths are important pollinators.
4. Many adult moths don’t eat.
While some moths suck nectar, others don’t eat at all. The adult Luna moth, for instance, doesn’t even have a mouth. After it emerges from its cocoon, it lives for about a week. Its sole mission in life? To mate and lay eggs
The luna moth grows to a wingspan of four and a half inches.
Credit: David Moskowitz
5. A male moth can smell a female more than 7 miles away.
Though they lack noses, moths are expert sniffers. They detect odor molecules using their antennae instead of through nostrils. Male giant silkworm moths have elaborate, feather-shaped antennae with hairlike scent receptors that allow them to detect a single molecule of a female moth’s sex hormone from 7 miles (11 kilometers) away.
6. They are important food for many animals.
Because of their abundance, moths are major players at the bottom of the food chain.
7. Moths: The next superfood?
In some places in the world they eat moth caterpillars. They are high in fat and protein.
Health4earth 