Ba talks a lot! (about monarchs)

It’s winter in the milkweed patch in my backyard on the Knobs of West Virginia.

Winter Milkweed photo by Ba Rea

Just had the pleasure of doing a radio talk show, Birds and Nature, with Scott Shalaway about monarchs, monarch books, monarch programs, this trip and more.  I had a good time… hope I got everyone credited appropriately …talking live and then hearing back what you say is a daunting experience.  Saying things well and accurately extemporaneously is a skill I’ll have to work on!  (I’m definitely steering clear of politics)  I can’t figure out how to put the connection into the blog but if you go to this site:

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=1028&cmd=tc

it is:   Episode 110 Birds and Nature 11/23/2008 12:02 PM EST  (2:05:28)

I talked with him in the second hour.  Amongst many other things, Scott asked me about how I got started as a “monarch obsessed adult”  and it brought back great memories from the early 70s.  I took a picture of this jacket I embroidered for myself in 1973.  I wore it all the time back then with no clue that anyone else was watching monarchs or how deep the impression was they had made on my life’s path.  I’ve been following monarchs all of my adult life:

My Jacket

North Central Mexico

I am reviewing notes and memories from our trip to Mexico. I’ve been talking with Carol Cullar one of my traveling partners and the director of the Rio Bravo Nature Center. She sent this lovely description of the ecosystem and geograpy of north central Mexico

Report from Carol Cullar:

Limestone upthrusts photo Carol Cullar

North Central Mexico is characterized by upthrust limestone mountains. On the east, runs the Sierra Madre Oriental (Eastern Mother Range) and on the west the Sierra Madre Occidental (Western Mother Range.) Between those two ranges is a high desert plain called the Altiplano (High/Flat).This rain shadow region is shared by two deserts, the Chihuahua (does the dog come from here?) to the east and the Sonora (Big Noisy) to the far west.

Rain Shadow photo by Carol Cullar

A desert is defined as a region receiving less than 11″ of rainfall a year. Little rainfall and poor soil are two of the factors controlling what plants are able to thrive and grow in this region. There are more species and varieties of cactus growing in the Chihuahua Desert than anywhere else on earth. They have adapted to its harsh conditions by developing small leaves, deep roots, and stems that store water for the dry times. Plant-eating predators are kept away by fierce thorns, but still, some insects have found a way to get past this barrier.

Prickly Pear photo by Carol Cullar

This prickly pear leaf is occupied by the cocchineal insect.

Despite its rain shadow, moderately high elevation, desert status, and low humidity, many nights in the desert are quite cool. Plants retain some warmth from the sun, causing dew to form each morning. This scant moisture is sufficient for the many species of lizards, desert rats, and other animals to find water for life.

Century Plant Dew photo by Carol Cullar

Chihuahua Desert Vegetation photo by Carol Cullar

Plants like the Joshua tree, cholla cactus, and allthorn grow slowly; and some, like the cresote, can live for thousands of years.

Monarchs migrate through moist valleys. photo by Carol Cullar

Monarchs migrate through the Altiplano, but recent investigations have found that they prefer to make their way down through the Sierra Madre canyons and valleys where rich vegetation and a summer rainy season produces vast numbers of flowering plants.

The End of the Road

I am home again in Union, West Virginia.  Our trip to Mexico with the monarchs was a wonderful experience. My apologies that the photos and text got thin near the end.  The nice tech at Apple told me very gently that there is little that can be done for my fried hard drive, but since I had an Applecare contract that it will be replaced.  For $500 to $2700 I could attempt to retrieve a few photos…no guarantees.  I don’t think that makes sense.  I have our notes and photos from the last few days. Carol and I will work together to get some  updates posted on what we found. I am putting together a map and we will post as soon as we have it filled out.

Hello from Laurel, Mississippi

We arrived at Carole Jordan’s home late last night. We are enjoying a much needed rest from the road today amongst great friends.  Tomorrow we will get up early and drive to Radford, Virginia.  I should be home sometime Sunday and back to my email and phone connections.

This has been a wonderful trip.  We have seen much, met great folks, and endured cramped space, long hours and differences of schedule and opinion with great grace.  Many thanks to Carol Cullar for her advice, knowledge, translation and friendship and to Bill and Susie Fry for friendship and a great sense of humor!

It is likely, that I have lost all but my last two days of photos as my computer now does nothing but flash a file folder with a question mark and I had been downloading and storing everything on it…However Bill and Susie and Carol have offered to send me copies of their photos and I am looking forward to posting and reviewing our monarch (and other) adventures over the next few months and introducing everyone to the return of the monarchs to the Knobs over Union, WV in the Spring.  Please join me!

Ba Rea

Hello from Matehuala Mexico

I have so much to share.  We went back to the area below the El Rosario parking lot on Sunday morning and watched thousands of monarchs drifting down from their over night clusters…There were few up in Angangueo and we didn{t bother to go all the wy up to the parking lot at El Rosaio. It was an awesome sight.  We saw migrating monarchs in several areas on our way north.  They seem to be still streaming down toward the reserves. I have a few pictures, but nothing that would give you the full effect. 

 Unfortunately my computer has gone on the fritz and I am writing this from the hotel lobby on a computer with a keyboard that is set up for Spanish and not too efficient for me!  I can’t upload any of my pictures and what I write is regularly disappearing! It will take us until sometime on the, Saturday or Sunday, to get home…to a computer that works and I will post the end of the trip then.  We are all well and looking forward to getting home.

Monarchs Clustering at Lower Elevations

Around 2 pm we headed up to Angangueo.  We began seeing monarchs in Ocampo.  We saw them further up the road toward Angangeo than we did yesterday but still very few in Angangueo.  We continued on up to La Chincua.  There were scattered dark clouds around the mountain tops again and we saw no monarchs above Angangueo.

 

Over dinner at Los Arcos (the Rainbows) Restaurant on the square in Angangueo we decided to go visit the pyramids at San Felipe los Alzati. On our way up the road to the pyramids we spotted many monarchs.  As we passed one tree hundreds shot out into the air.  We stopped and watched them form several clusters.  A little further up the road there was another tree with many clusters.  Carol Cullar estimates that the first tree had between 800 and a thousand clustered monarchs. Her great new camera captured much clearer pictures than mine did and she will post them when she gets back to Texas.

Hello from Michoachan!

We finally found an internet connection!

Bill Fry at the Pyramid of the Sun

Tuesday we visited Teotihuacan, City of the Gods.  Our visit was just a very brief brush with this huge, complex archeological site.  It was election day in the US and we were planning to be in Tuxpan at Quinta Mitzi to watch the election returns that night. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, surveyed our surrounds and moved on.  A true explore of Teotihuacan will have to wait for another day.

Bill and Susie Fry on the Pyramid of the Sun

Quinta Mitzi

After many missed turns, detours and topes we arrived in Tuxpan around 5 pm.  We began seeing monarchs again as we entered Michoacan.   Quinta Mitzi and Mitzi and Ranulpho de Mancilla are  a familiar and delightful Mexico stop.

Number 14 where Fred and Norah Urquhart (and Bill and Susie Fry) stayed

This is the hotel that Fred and Nora Urquhart stayed in when they came to see the monarch overwintering sites for the first time. 

Mitzi and Ranulpho

Mitzi was born and raised in Chicago and marred Ranulpho and moved to Mexico in 1949.  Quinta Mitzi has featured in all of my Mexico trips.  The motel is not generally open any more as Mitzi is 87( I think) and Ranulpho is 98, but if you call ahead and arrive before dark it is still one of the best places to stop.  

Amidst the bumpy roads and topes Susie had succumbed to Montezuma’s revenge and we were happy to give her a day to  rest and recuperate watching the beautiful 7 foot tall pointsettas outside her door and drinking Mitzi’s chamomile tea.  Bill and Susie took the room with the fireplace that Fred and Nora Urquhart had  stayed in.. We did a day trip to find Carole Jordan’s casita in Zitacuaro and met her landlady Oreilia and Betty from Biocensis (sp?).  They were extremely helpful getting us set up to move in on Thursday. The casita is small but lovely, one of several around a courtyard off of the street.  

Carol counting thousands of monarchs flying by below El Rosario
–sorry the butterflies didn’t photograph well

Thursday we drove up to the parking lot below El Rosario and then up to Angangeo.  The monarchs are arriving here.  We did not see too many in Angangeo or up in the area near the parking lots at El Rosario but in the forest well below the reserve they swarmed above the trees and were all over Ocampo.  We intend to drive back through Angangeo to La Chincua today.  

Church on the square in Angangeo

The Don Bruno is not open for the season yet

The Pyramids and Atlantean figures at Tula

Today we traveled south east to Tula—Toltec archeological site.  Along the way we counted many monarchs. We began to encounter them just outside of San Miguel de Allende and continuously as we drove sout on 57 toward Queretaro.  Most were crossing the highway going northeast.  It was late morning and just warming up.  We guessed that it was primarily nectaring activity as there were many flowers on both sides of the highway. 

 

We continued down to the outer reaches of Mexico city to see Tula.

 

Bill and Susie Fry at Tula

We have continued on and are spending the night at the hotel Villas Archeologicas at Teotihuacan.  We hope to see some of that site in the morning before heading to Tuxpan and Quinta Mitzi as we approach the overwintering area and monarch reserves.

 

Good morning from San Miguel de Allende

Our Day of the Dead Altar honoring Jay King, Norman H. Rea II, Bob Fry, Barbara G. Rea and Elizabeth Fry

Susan Fry, Ba Rea and Bill Fry

We put up an altar last night for our loved ones who have died. This morning we are packing up and getting ready to go to Teotihuacan.  I am so far behind on posting my photos! but it is important that I be here as well.   This is a fascinating process.  I am used to editing and checking many times over before exposing my writing to the world.  I have been making mistakes and trying to get them fixed as I find them…several places I have happily reported being in the Sierra Madre Occidentals and it is really the Sierra Madre Orientals, make the shift if you find places I have missed correcting…Eventually I will get it right.  We are greatly enjoying our adventure and I hope when we get to Zitacuaro and the butterfly reserves we will stay put for a few days and I will get a routine down and get more out to all those monarch watchers following along. We are taking lots of photos and handwritten notes…and “Being” here a lot!

Ba Rea

Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende

Saturday morning, we had a great breakfast at Java Time, the coffee shop attached to Hotel Casablanca in Queretaro. I don’t know if any of you have traveled with Carol Cullar but it is always a fascinating adventure.  Coincidences and chance meetings are a regular occurrence. We were joined by the owner of the coffee shop who just happened to have attended junior high school at a school in Mexico when Carol was an art teacher  there. We had a wonderful discussion about our trip and places to see before setting off for San Miguel de Allende.

Carol Cullar and Jeff Lewis

We arrived at Hotel Posada de  , a place Carol remembered fondly from her graduate school days in San Miguel in mid afternoon.  It is a remarkable place with parking in a courtyard behind big wooden doors off of a narrow, busy street just below the central square of the town.  How incredibly nice.  Nice rooms cloistered away from the road with ancient charm and with roof top sitting areas within easy walking distance of an all weekend celebration of the Day of the Dead—November 1^st and 2^nd  in the town square.

Canal Street San Miguel Allende

Bill and Susie with a student who spoke great English in front of the altar he and fellow students created.

Church in the square San Miguel de Allende on Day of the Dead

Celebrant preparing for Day of the Dead 

Sunday morning Carol and I went on an explore to track down some reported monarch clusters in a little village on the east side of (lake)Presa Ignacio Allende-east of San Miguel.  We found no clusters but were assured by the local folks that we had missed them by only a few days.

Folks we met who told us the “butterflies that hang down from the trees” had passed through several days ago.