Say goodbye to our Monarchs?

They were quickly listed as endangered under SARA recently. Unfathomable to think of our world without such a beautiful creature that has been a common given in our lives. I’m not sure what happened this past winter in Mexico on what’s left of their wintering home, but things are not looking good up here this summer. It usually takes three generations to cycle from the wintering population before we see them up here. Looks like the surviving population was so low it’s not going to happen. I’ve seen a total of three Monarchs on our 160 acres so far. The blooming milkweed is barren. We usually have thousands by the first week in July and the milkweed are starting to hold new caterpillars. Absolutely zero so far this year at our place. Goodbye bats and bumbles before you could blink an eye. Looking like our Monarchs are next. If you have children you better show them one before they’re extinct.

Something I've not considered since I don't live near any rural land these days, I can remember them being very common growing up as well as milkweed being very common in the neglected fields nearby. Just another thing being ruined by our modern world.

It's amazing what round up will do. Indiscriminate spraying their fields when it's windy and you wind up getting spray drift and whoops there goes the milkweed. Seeing more and more farmers spraying round up to kill what's in the field instead of plowing it under like they once use to...