Sweet Rewards

It's not often that we do something 

and receive nearly instant gratification......

But this summer, we did.  

Here is a monarch butterfly caterpillar on my milkweed starts.

You can see that the milkweed had not even been

planted in the garden yet, they are still in the

6 pack container!

It's a miracle how this caterpillar found 6 milkweed plants

in the middle of the Superior National Forest.

This beauty visited Gracie's Plant Works one day this summer.

I like to think it was a thank you for giving

all those milkweed plants away this spring.

She (he?) flitted around, pollinating and sipping

nectar from the flowers, then

landed on the counter for a short rest

before floating off to parts unknown.

Don't underestimate the power of your actions.  

This was just one butterfly and one caterpillar.

But, if everyone did it.......

what a difference we can make. 

 Don't forget that there are things we do that give us 

satisfaction, too, by absence rather than presence.

An example would be inter-planting sweet alyssum in your garden

and not having aphids all summer.  

Not every time will

you receive proof or immediate satisfaction. 

But, sometimes, you will. 

And when you do, it feels pretty great.

Oh, yes, and of course we'll have more milkweed

next spring.

You can read more about planting milkweed

for monarchs HERE