eARTh Revival

We have been seeing Mourning Cloak butterflies Butterflies that overwinter as adults include anglewings, tortoiseshells and the monarch buttefly. Mourning cloaks are part of the tortoiseshell family. These groups of butterflies that overwinter as adults tuck themselves into tree cavities, under logs or rocks, behind loose bark, within evergreen foliage, in brush piles, old rock walls and buildings for shelter against the winter. Most butterflies overwinter in or near the s...ame place they were born. The exception to this are butteflies that migrate in the winter such as monarchs, cloudless sulphur, painted lady and buckeye. Mourning Cloak's are some the the earliest butterflies to emerge in spring- sometimes when there is still snow on the ground! While they do forage on flowers for nectar, they generally prefer tree sap from maple, poplar, oak and birch. These butterflies also ‘mudpuddle’, which means they get minerals from damp sand, manure, compost as well as rotting fruit and other moist organic matter. Host Plants: Mourning Cloak larvae feed on a variety of trees such as Elms, Hackberries, Paper Birch, many Willows such as Pussy Willow(salix discolor) and Narrowleaf Willow (Salix exigua), and trees in the Populus genus such as Trembling Aspen and Cottonwoods. The second picture depicts illustrations of the tortoiseshell family in larval stage, chrysalis and butterfly. #mourningcloak #butterfly #pollinators #spring #collingwood #wasagabeach #bluemountain #southgeorgianbay #clearview #stayner See more

Collingwood is now a Bee City! We worked with the Town of Collingwood to set up an application including past, present and future pollinator conservation initiatives. We recieved the designation of Bee City for these initiatives and are excited to work with the community on more pollinator gardens, educational resources and other land stewardship events! #beecity #pollinator #conservation #pollinatecollingwood #collingwood #wasagabeach #bluemountain #southgeorgianbay #clearview #stayner

This year - eARTh Revival wants to create super healthy plants and contribute to healthy soils! We have decided to inoculate our seeds and seedlings - adding fungal spores so that mycelium can grow and help our plants uptake all the nutrients in the soil. The first photo is Myco-Grow, fungal spores meant for greenhouse and plant growers! The second photo is soil with mycelium that I dug up last year - so cool!! I've been fascinated with fungi, particularly the fruiting bo...dy that we call a mushroom, ever since experiencing the magic of lobster mushrooms bursting up from the boreal forest floor at my cottage as a child. The bright orange mass of mushroom tissue growing it's way out of the ground, seemingly overnight, was as fascinating to me as insects and wildflowers. I began learning about mushrooms and have become quite the forager - from the lobster mushrooms I remember as a child, to morels, lions mane, reishi and chanterelles. As I learnt more, the world of fungi continues to fascinate me because it really is the glue that holds this whole planet together. The soil, the very thing that supports plant life and thus, our life - was made by fungi, specifically mycelium, which is the fungal system that decomposes plant matter, connects plant roots, and helps plants uptake nutrients from the soil. (It does so much more then this as well). A single cubic inch of healthy soil contains enough fungal cells to stretch more than 8 miles if placed end to end!! Along with other organisms, the life sustaining soil is a world unto itself. These living wonders support us, and we must create a reciprocal relationship with them. This means leaving plant matter where is lays, composting, building up poor soils, avoid tilling the soil, avoid fungicides and planting healthy plants. If your interested in learning more about fungi and mycelium, I highly recommend " Mycellium Running by Paul Stamets" and Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake" #mycelium #mycorhizae #fungi #healthysoil #healthyplants #ecologicalgardening #landstewardship #nativeplants #collingwood #wasagabeach #southgeorgianbay #bluemountain #stayner #clearview

Here Together by W.S Merwin These days I can see us clinging to each other as we are swept along by the current I am clinging to you to keep you from... being swept away and you are clinging to me we see the shores blurring past as we hold each other in the rushing current the daylight rushes unheard far above us how long will we be swept along in the daylight how long will we cling together in the night and where will it carry us together Its windy here today I've never been a lover of wind - I tend to stay inside or sheltered from the gusts. Wind hurts my ears, and over the past few years I have experienced seasonal allergies. In TCM - wind is considered one of the six external causes of disease, and it makes sense - wind can carry things far from its source. Interestingly - the wind is actually created by the sun, which heats earth unevenly creating warm and cool spots. We experience wind here in South Georgian Bay due to inland heat and cooler air from the lake. When inland heat rises, the cooler air from the lake takes its place- causing wind. Land breezes come at night, when inland temperatures drop enough that the body of water is now warmer than the land, reversing the effect. I do see wind as a neccessary force and one with which plants and animals have come to work with and benefit from. Around 20% of plants are wind pollinated - like pine trees and wheat, and several different plants create seeds with fluffy attachments that help them to be carried far distances by the wind - setting down roots in new places. Like the milkweed pods pictured, which are open and have let her seeds fly with the lake breezes. Every year I delight in throwing milkweed seeds in the air and watching the silky tufts fly through the air - weightless in their pursuit of happiness. #wherewillitcarryustogether #milkweed #windy #nativeplants #ecologicalgardening #landstewardship #southgeorgianbay #collingwood #wasagabeach #bluemountain #stayner