Wrapping up

  The Big Butterfly Year is wrapping up.  I saw two Clouded Sulphurs at the McDonald's in Pataskala where we stopped for lunch after my son's cross country meet on Saturday.  And yesterday in the yard had a beautiful Red Admiral on the neighbor's fence.  Also found two Monarch caterpillars on my Swamp Milkweed.  Sadly, there is a real good chance that they will not make it to adulthood.  They are probably still at least one instar away from pupating, or roughly 3-4 days.  Weather is supposed to turn cold middle of the week with temperatures in Columbus in the mid-30's, which means for us rural folks, temperatures in the low 30's.  These two little guys just got too late of a start in life.  I am not one to bring in such creatures for them to carry out their life cycle.  I have no qualms with people bringing cats in for educational purposes for their children, but I am opposed to raising cats inside.  I think it upsets the balance of nature.  Sometimes life is harsh.  And the fact is, these cats' mother should've been flying south to Mexico in the middle of September rather than laying eggs in southeast Ohio.  I guess some folks have the misfortune of having moms who are crack or meth addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, etc, while others have the misfortune of being born at the wrong time of year.  Each species has its own issues.
  I am going to write a book detailing my big butterfly year.  In a way, I don't think it matched up to the concept of a Big _____ Year, as I came nowhere close to reaching goals and I could not abandon my normal responsibilities as a husband, father, and employee to pursue butterflies.  I had a lot of limitations, including time, money, and motivation (to travel a full cold day on the back of a bike to see one or two species).  The fact that I was trying to do all of this on a motorcycle brought its own issues, all of which will be detailed in the book.  But, with all of the negative, there was positive, including several life species, seeing new places, rekindling friendships, etc.  Several folks who followed the bby commented about how the trip west was so successful, although in my mind it fell far short of expectations, but I had fun, saw some butterflies, and returned home in one piece (which a few times had the potential to be iffy), so, in that sense perhaps it was successful.
  For those who expect Butterfly Rider (the book) to be a reincarnation of Bob Pyle's The Mariposa Road, I am afraid you will be surprised or perhaps disappointed.  I want Butterfly Rider to be geared more to novice butterfliers, so you will see common names rather than scientific names, you will see color pictures, you will see lines and arrows explaining why that butterfly is a Hackberry Emperor and not a Tawny Emperor.  SOme of the pics will be lousy quality, because butterflies do not always cooperate and I did not have time to sit in one spot for four hours waiting for the perfect shot.  One of my self-imposed rules was that to be able to count a species, I had to get a photo.  So, for example, despite seeing a dozen Falcate Orange-tips in the spring, I could only get two photos and they are both horrible.  Likewise, I cannot officially count Arizona Sister, Two-tailed Swallowtail, or Southern Dogface, all of which are very recognizeable at a distance.  But, I think that is something that will make the book educational and effective.  The big question regarding the book, do I directly quote my biker friends at Twin Custom Bikes in Lakeside?  If so, that will render the book unsuitable for younger people!  Feel free to give me your thoughts!
  Thanks for following me this year.  chris