This past week while I am home enjoying a staycation (why would anyone ever want to leave Gloucester during the summer?), I have been working on HarborWalk butterfly garden improvements, alongside some outstandingly helpful volunteers. Imagine our delight when a beautiful Mama Monarch flew on the secene. After nectaring from the zinnias, I was hoping she would deposit her eggs on the Marsh Milkweed, strategically planted next to the nectar-rich zinnias, but no, not on her day’s agenda.
Many Hands Make Light Work ~ If you would like to join the Friends of the HarborWalk volunteers, please email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. You don’t need to be an expert gardener to join us; on the job-training is provided. We also need sweepers, trash-picker-uppers, and weedwhackers!
I understand from Matt Coogan, Gloucester’s Community Development Senior Planner, that there were over 800 people attending the free Summer Cinema on Wednesday night!! This coming Wednesday, a showing of Goonines is scheduled. I hope to see you there!
The Monarchs we see in our gardens at this time of year are not the Methuselah Monarchs that travel to Mexico, but the parents of the generation that will.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Such good news! (I didn’t see a single monarch last year.)
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There are definitely more around this year Chris, just very late. Typically we begin to see them in our region, in any kind of numbers, around July 4th. They are about three weeks late, which perhaps corresponds to the spring weather. I think spring was about three weeks later than usual.
At this time of year to see the maximum amount of butterflies at the HarborWalk gardens visit on a warm sunny day, between the hours of 10:30 and 3:30.
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Beautiful shots and that’s a riverwalk to walk for sure D:-) & K:-)
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Thanks Dave–very exciting to see all the wildlife drawn to the wild flowers!!
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