It just occurred to me that the title of this post might mean something completely different to those in the UK, Canada, Australia, and other parts of the world. lol. This post is about the Monarch Butterflies overwintering in California.
Pacific Grove is well known for this annual event, but there are other locations in California where the butterflies hang out in the winter months. Why the locations are chosen by the butterflies is a topic of research, but all of the sites have a few things in common: mild winter temperatures, Eucalyptus groves for overwintering, Milkweed for the larvae to eat, and flower nectar in the Spring for the new adult butterflies to eat. Wikipedia: Monarch (butterfy)
Ardenwood Historic Farm has a Eucalyptus grove where the Monarch butterflies overwinter and this year there are ~10x more Monarchs than last year. The admission for Ardenwood is only $2 for adults and they have guided walks to learn about and see the clusters of butterflies, or you can view them on your own.
The day we went was cool and cloudy, but at one point a few rays of sunlight hit the cluster and the butterflies became more active. There are thousands of butterflies in the grove all packed together in these clusters.
Spinning, knitting, weaving, and socializing (and eating!) kept us engaged at Spinnity's Spin-in. It was nice to catch up with everyone in the new year.
I can show the next project now that it has been gifted. It's 100% cotton woven in an 8 pick herringbone Fibonacci sequence. It's my first FO for 2012.
It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?
I'm wearing my Tahoe Broadripple socks. Did you know that golf courses are open in Tahoe right now? In January?? We need snow and rain. Come on Mother Nature, bring it on!
The Honeycomb towels took a trip through the washer and dryer and they're GREAT! They shrank beautifully and are really soft. I was worried that the towel body wouldn't shrink at the same rate as hem, but it did. Success.
