Day 5: I Got Milkweed!

At the workshop, the moderators said that soon we, the trainees, would be keeping an eye out for milkweed plants as we went about our daily routines. "Fat chance that!" I thought. But as I drove home last Thursday, stuck in traffic on the George Washington Parkway, my milkweed sensors did go up as I observed the landscape along the side of the road.

I have to confess that I pilfered the milkweed on Saturday (from an undisclosed location) where a little sign advised not taking anything. Sorry! I will never do that again. So, today, on the way home today after grocery shopping, the kids and I drove through Rock Creek Park trying to find a new source of this precious plant. Lo and behold, our efforts were rewarded when we chanced upon this meadow!

Unfortunately, the plants were quite dry and quite infested. It was fun for Ian and Noah to see all the aphids and the ladybugs eating the aphids (I think you can make one out near the stem in the middle of the plant) and the wasps flying around and lots of red ants.

We trudged around the meadow a bit and found a few leaves that would do. Supplies are low at home (last week's harvest is wilting) and our little instar is getting hungrier.

Here's the leaf he was snacking on up till this noon when we finally got home to replace with fresher stock.

Further along our drive, though, we did chance upon another meadow, closer to our house. We'll check out this field later on.

A note of looking for the common milkweed: From the four places that I went looking for milkweed, I realized that finding a clearing with a lot of brush and long grass was a perfect spot to look. The milkweed grows tall and you can recognize the stalks and leaves as you drive by. Last Saturday, I walked around Cabin John Park trying to spot any milkweed plants. No such luck. There were lots of trees, vines, and bushes, but no clearings. In the meadow we found at Rock Creek Park, there was a little sign posted saying that this was a natural meadow -- no mowing in the area. And it was abundant with milkweed.