RICK MIKULA MONARCH HISTORY

I have been studying this for a long time and it will start a lot of controversy, but both the western and eastern monarch migrations were allowed to happen through human intervention and did not go on for thousands of years as some people misconceive to be true. There were no records of monarchs over wintering in California prior to the California gold rush. The early Spanish explorers always had Jesuit priests with them who kept meticulous records of the flora and fauna they found on their journeys; it was part of the reason they were there. Never was the Monarch butterfly mentioned in their notes. Once the Gold rush started the demand for lumber skyrocketed and the forest were clear. Once the native trees were gone Australian Eucalyptus was introduced because it grew quickly and could supply the urgent need for more timber. The clearing of the forest allowed the monarch ingress into California where they actually enjoyed the introduction of Eucalyptus because it was easy to cling to in bad weather and the shape of the leaves captured water for an early morning drink. In many places where “It must be a native plant, or it goes people” removed the Eucalyptus eventually lost their monarch colonies as well.

Carl Linnaeus described monarchs for the first time in 1758, in his book Systema Naturae. His specimens did come from Pennsylvania, but they were not mine because I did not start to raise until a few years later. Sorry I just had to throw a little bit of humor into this. Prior to human expansion the dense forest in northeastern US were not conducive to nurturing great numbers of monarchs. It was until the Eastern and mid-west states were cleared for farming that milkweed was able to execute its own manifest destiny and start its journey northward that allow the monarchs to follow. A mass migration of monarchs prior to the 17th or 18th century would seem improbable due to the existing habitat.

I hate to burst the bubble of those who are blinded by the romanticism of such a magical creature, but reality needs to raise its head. Now you did not hear this from me BUT there is a good chance that monarch migration in the US was caused and is slowly being eliminated by human intervention and climate change. To take a lesson from the Canadian Geese why migrate if you do not need to? Which would answer the question as to why so many US monarch overwintering site are being discovered.

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.