Over the past 15 years or so, milkweed gardens have been the “in” thing for gardeners and nature lovers. I appreciate every one of you who have undertaken the task of growing these plants to help the beleaguered monarch regain its status as the king of our butterflies. Since the 1990s, the population of migrating monarchs has declined by 80%. Your efforts have helped to slow down that loss and, in some years, led to significant, albeit it periodic and temporary, rebounds. Keep plugging along – this war will be won via a resilient and patient group effort. While tending to your butterfly garden, stop and smell the roses -- well, smell the milkweed. Those flowers are powerful in their scent, it’s such a beautiful aroma, reminiscent of lilac. Upon smelling it, it becomes obvious why so many pollinators and other insects love the flowers. Those are the creatures I want you to appreciate. Monarch butterflies get all the love and attention, and deservedly so, but peer into the flower...

        Last weekend, my son had his first run-in with stinging nettle. I heard “Dad! Dad! Dad!” and he then came running to me with tears in his eyes, not knowing what was happening to him as welts popped up on his legs and he began to itch. If you’ve never experienced nettle, the first time is unexpected and shocking. Rather than racing back to the cabin to get him into the shower and cleaned up with soap and water, I told him and his siblings that were sticking it out and continuing to play and explore in the wilds. Does that mean I’m a bad father? Nope. It means that I know Mother Nature provides. I quickly found some jewelweed, smashed the stalks of the plant and spread the watery juices all over where the nettle’s hairs were bothering him. Within minutes, the pain and itch were gone. Within the hour, the welts completely disappeared. Jewelweed is a magical plant – the first aid of the forest -- that you need to familiarize yourself with. Now, the plant is jus...

  On a pleasant Sunday morning one June, my family and I awoke to find a gigantic moth on the outside of our kitchen window. It was a polyphemus moth, the largest – and the least common - of the giant silk moths that can be found in Western New York. While my daughter and I thought its wingspan of a half-foot was intriguing, my wife found it unsettling, as it reminded her of a bat. She’s not the first person that I’ve heard share such thoughts and she won’t be the last. Man is not the only creature frightened by polyphemus moths. Animals that could be considered potential predators like birds and frogs are also put off by the moth’s appearance. That can be attributed to the appearance of eyes on its large wings, which makes attackers think that it’s the face of a much larger animal, like a cat or something. In the picture that accompanies this article you will notice how it looks in a partially-closed state – there are two small eyes on the wings while the abdomen looks like a no...