Now that summer is officially over, it’s harder and harder to find reasons to celebrate.
Sure, we all love a good fall apple picking session or getting our homemade costume ready for Halloween, but soon the days will be much shorter and colder, with winter not far behind. We know, we’re not ready either.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some of those last signs of summer before it all completely goes away. And that includes watching some monarch butterflies make their way into the wild.
On Sunday, Cole Gardens will host its second annual Monarch Butterfly Release.
At the release, which is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can learn all about creating your very own butterfly habitat by planting host and nectar plants for monarchs to enjoy. It’s also very important to create these sanctuaries we recently learned because there has been continual decline of the monarch population.
There will be a Q and A at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. with Rick Broussard, where you can also find out about the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly, which is pretty awesome. They start out as eggs, which is where they begin the journey toward becoming a caterpillar.
The caterpillar will then make a chrysalis, before emerging as a beautiful butterfly.
But if you want the technical scoop, you might want to attend the Q and A. That’s just what we remember from science class and thanks to our trusty friend Google.
In each time slot, approximately 100 butterflies will be released into the world for the very first time since making their amazing transformation.
You will also have the option of attending a complimentary tea party at noon and/or 2:30 p.m. Pink lemonade, iced tea and light refreshments will be served. To reserve seats for the tea party, call 229-0655.
The release will be held rain or shine.
It was supposed to be held this past Sunday, but was postponed due to cooler temperatures at night that slowed the monarch larvae development.
So if you went and no one was there, now you know why. If you didn’t know it was happening, well now you do and can plan your weekend around it.
