Celebrating the Great Western Monarch Migration

Photo Credit: Kathy Vilim, Monarch Butterfly on Willow Bush

~Orange wings against blue sky, floating effortlessly high above us…their flight is so Free! Watching Monarchs fly makes our spirits fly free, too~

Pismo Beach, California:

The Amtrak train (at Grover Beach Station) lets off a good hearty whistle, as I step out onto the platform with my sister, Jeanne. We have traveled some 175 miles north to the Central Coast from Los Angeles to experience the Annual Western Monarch Migration.  Loaded with supplies for a couple of days of camping, we walk outside into the fresh ocean air and make our way northwest on Pacific Coast Highway to the Butterfly Grove of Pismo Beach. It is a short walk alongside the railroad tracks, and our campground is located just next door.

Migration of the West Coast Monarchs:

It is Autumn and the Great Monarch Migration is underway.  Most of us have heard of the Great Annual Migration of the Monarchs, where the butterflies travel as far as 4500 miles from Canada south to the overwintering grove in Michoacan, Mexico. But few people know about the Migration of the West Coast Monarchs.  The Monarchs that live west of the Rockies (California, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico) do not need to make the long journey to Eastern Mexico to overwinter.  Instead, they choose to fly to groves on the Central and Southern California coast where the climate is just right for their needs. These groves are some of California’s natural treasures, and how the Monarchs find these groves is one of the many Monarch mysteries.

Of the more than 400 overwintering groves along the Pacific Coastline... READ MORE 

As published in Whole Life Magazine February/March 2017 issue.

Winter Rains Bring Poppy Blooms~

                            Antelope-Valley-California-Poppy-Reserve-blooms

             I wanted to share this: Story by Amy Graff, http://m.sfgate.com/

The winter rains could trigger a poppy explosion in the California desert this spring.The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve outside Lancaster has received the minimum amount of rain, 7 inches, to make a vibrant bloom possible. The weather over the next couple weeks will determine the future of the sprouts. A late freeze, a heat wave or a three-week stretch without rain could wipe out the bloom.

"We need the rains to continue on a regular basis to maintain the bloom," California State Park Interpreter Jean Rhyne says. "That's really what they need. With the past years of drought, there isn't a lot of moisture built up in the soil. If we'd had several years of good rain and enough moisture content in the soil, the plants would be growing early enough to carry them through a freeze or heat wave. The roots needs to be deep enough for them to tolerate extreme conditions."

At this point, Rhyne says the outlook is good but she won't make any guarantees and advises against making travel plans if you're only point of a visit is to see the poppies.

"In years' past, we spot that we have enough rain, we spot that conditions are perfects, we publicize that we're going to have a great bloom and people make plans and then something happens at the last minute," she says. "We really can't predict how good the bloom is going to be because there are so many factors out of our control."

If Mother Nature cooperates, the bloom would likely start late February and peak mid-March and Rhyne says it's definitely worth the trip "Poppy blooms are incredibly beautiful," she said. "If we have a good year, the orange is so bright that it's almost blinding."

The most recent super blooms of poppies were 2008 and 2010.

For information about all of the California State Parks in the Tehachapi District.