Sorry all, for the month outage but finally Weather Underground and I corrected the issue today:
Link below:
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KARPARTH3
Be sure to try the new WunderMap (Link Below)
Thanks all.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Boston Mountain, weather on June 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Sorry all, for the month outage but finally Weather Underground and I corrected the issue today:
Link below:
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KARPARTH3
Be sure to try the new WunderMap (Link Below)
Thanks all.
Posted in General, tagged Arkansas, Avian, birds, Boston Mountain on February 14, 2015| 2 Comments »
Posted in Mountain Scenery, Shrubs and Trees, The River, Uncategorized, Wild Birds, tagged Boston Mountain, color change, fog, just a very few are starting to change color:, Orchard Oriole, Sassafras Tree, Sycamore Reflections on September 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
These leaf examples were found and photographed yesterday, 9/26/14, in the afternoon. These are only examples and most of the same trees are unchanged yet. The fog was thick this morning and we had to wait until 8;30 to take any photos. The final photo is of an Orchard Oriole in a Sassafras Tree; all tasked with point and shoots.
Posted in Moths and Butterfiles, mountains, Unusual Insects, tagged bears, Boston Mountain, in 2103, insects, monarch, monarch butterfly, monarchs, parthenon arkansas, problem, scare on October 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This August, September, and October (so far) I have seen only 4-5 Monarchs; I have seen 6 Black Bears in the same time frame. That is a huge change from lat year and from 2011 when I saw maybe 10,000 on week in September. There may be a problem !
These are photos from 2 days ago, October 14th, that I snapped of 1 Monarch on a butterfly bush in my front yard here in the Boston Mountains, west southwest of Parthenon, Arkansas. Anyone that knows Black Bears knows there is a healthy population in this part of Arkansas; but that it is very rare to see them. They are highly nocturnal
From USA Today:
GREENVILLE, N.Y. — Spotting a monarch butterfly this summer may be difficult, according to some experts who fear the population of the orange-and-black butterfly is crashing.
The butterflies are known for their long-distance migration, a feat made even more amazing because the fluttering insects heading south each fall are about four generations descended from the ones that left Mexico the previous spring.
They also serve as an important part of the food chain for birds.
Illegal logging in the Mexican forests where they spend the winter, new climate patterns and the disappearance of milkweed — the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs and on which their caterpillars feed — are being blamed for their shrinking numbers.
Brooke Beebe, former director of the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, N.Y., collects monarch eggs, raises them from caterpillar to butterfly and releases them.
“I do that when they’re here. They’re not here,” she said.
The alarm over disappearing monarchs intensified this spring when conservation organizations reported that the amount of Mexican forest the butterflies occupied was at its lowest in 20 years. The World Wildlife Fund, in partnership with a Mexican wireless company and Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Areas, found nine hibernating colonies occupied almost 3 acres during the 2012-13 winter, a 59% decrease from the previous winter.
Because the insects can’t be counted individually, the colonies’ total size is used. Almost 20 years ago, the colonies covered about 45 acres. A couple of acres contains millions of monarchs.
“The monarch population is pretty strong, except it’s not as strong as it used to be and we find out it keeps getting smaller and smaller,” said Travis Brady, the education director at the Greenburgh Nature Center here.
Monarchs arrived at the nature center later this year and in fewer numbers, Brady said.
The nature center’s butterfly house this summer was aflutter with red admirals, giant swallowtails, painted ladies and monarchs, among others. But the last were difficult to obtain because collectors supplying the center had trouble finding monarch eggs in the wild, he said.
No one is suggesting monarchs will become extinct. The concern is whether the annual migration will remain sustainable, said Jeffrey Glassberg, the North American Butterfly Association’s president.
The record low shouldn’t set off a panic, said Marianna T. Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center in Texas, a project of the butterfly association.
“It should certainly get some attention,” she said. “I do think the disappearance of milkweed nationwide needs to be addressed. If you want to have monarchs, you have to have milkweed.”
Milkweed is often not part of suburban landscape, succumbing to lawn mowers and weed whackers, monarch advocates point out. Without it, monarch eggs aren’t laid and monarch caterpillars can’t feed and develop into winged adults.
“Many people know milkweed, and many people like it,” said Brady at the nature center. “And a lot of people actively try to destroy it. The health of the monarch population is solely dependent on the milkweed plant.”
The widespread use of herbicide-resistant corn and soybeans, which has resulted in the loss of more than 80 million acres of monarch habitat in recent years, also threatens the plant, according to the website Monarch Watch. In spraying fields to eradicate unwanted plants, Midwest farmers also eliminate butterflies’ habitat.
The 2012 drought and wildfires in Texas also made butterfly life difficult. All monarchs heading to or from the eastern two-thirds of the country pass through the state.
Monarchs have been absent from the Hudson River Audubon Society’s butterfly garden at Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, N.Y., said society President Saul Scheinbach.
The only good thing is that monarchs, like other insects, reproduce rapidly and most likely will recover if left alone, he said.
Posted in Mountain Scenery, mountains, Weather, tagged 15, 2013, Arkansas, Boston Mountain, Fall colors, october, Partjenon, ponca on October 16, 2013| 1 Comment »
We got 2.01 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. I took these yesterday at the Ponca bridges. Adds Creek was running muddy, so the water above the low-water bridge was clear, and below the high bridge was murky to cloudy. It appears the first color peak will be in 7-10 days if the forecast for clear cooler weather for 7 days holds. The day was rainy, cloudy, and not much light getting through the clouds – that type of day tends to highly saturate the colors:
Posted in Caves and Waterfalls, General, mountains, The River, Weather, tagged Arkansas, Boston Mountain, Buffalo River, floatable at Ppnca to Kyles, flooding, illinois bayou, moderate rain, mountain streams, upper buffalo on August 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This has been a most unusual August ! Seven and one half inches of rain since August 1. We really needed the rain to help refill our water table and that rain has dropped us out of the mild drought category to near normal category, for the year. We got 3 inches in one long train fo thunderstorms on saturday morning. No Severe weather, just moderate rain over several hours, maybe heavy at times. The Buffalo River rose to about 3 feet over the Ponca Bridge by sunday morning (reading an astounding 11 feet), but was floatable from previous rains on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This has not happened in August for 40+ years.
Today, the river has 8″ of airspace at the Ponca Bridge and is floatable for Experts after being closed for a couple of days. I expect the upper Buffalo (Ponca to Kyles) to stay foatable for a week or more; because the water table is primed. Im going to try to get out on the water later this week. All the Boston Mountain streams are floatable; the War Eagle, Kings, Mulberry, and the Piney Creek, and the Illinois Bayou and even Richland Creek and may stay that way for a week or so. It is raining again now and we are expecting 1/2 to 1 inch today and tonight, then a stretch of cool dry weather (highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s) for about 5 days.
Got some grass cutting to do !!!!!!!!
Also; I am Posting a Youtube clip taken Sunday morning of the Buffalo River at the Popnca Bridge (property of the Buffalo Outdoor Center):
Posted in Mountain Scenery, tagged Boston Mountain, Buffalo River, scenery on January 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »
January 10th, 2013 – only another 0.09 inches of drizzle overnight. It appears that the bulk of the rain went south and east of the Boston Mountains. There is still a chance for about 1/2″ of rain over the next few days – WE NEED IT !!!