P. K. BUTLER
My intent is to awaken young readers to the
wonder of Mother Earth and her children.
The Bird Club
A Serial Chapter Book Series
Sunrise #7
The last book in the serial series The Bird Club:
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Benita, Owen, and the Bird Club finally reach the Gathering Glade in Wild World. Here they petition the High Council of Crows to restore Benita's ability to change between crow and girl. But can the Council renew her gifts? And what will these extraordinary crows tell Benita and Owen of their identities and missions on Earth?
New to The Bird Club?
You'll want to check out books #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6 before beginning the last book in the series, #7. The Bird Club is a serial series, which means the story begins in book #1 and ends in #7.
Follow Bird Club members Ben, Olivia, Jorge, and Ursula through
a serial series of seven books!
"An engaging introduction to what's sure to be a breezy fantasy series."
Kirkus Reviews
Ben and the Bird Girl #1
The Owl Boy #2
The Fickle Forest #3
The Three-Cedar Secret #4
The Impossible Divide #5
Wild World #6
BEE a Naturalist
April 22, 2026
Every Day Is Earth Day
I must admit that Earth Day, today, always sneaks up on me. That's because every day is Earth Day to me. But the spring season inspires my most intense focus because this is when I plant a vegetable garden and purchase native shrubs and trees to plant in my yard.
Pictured here is a young American Plum tree (Prunus americana) that I planted just a few days ago. Isn't it beautiful? If I want fruit (and I do, because birds will love it), then I'll need to get another plum tree, another genetically unique American Plum or a different species of plum entirely. I'll likely get that next spring since fruit production can be anywhere from 3 to 6 years out. When looking at that time frame, what's another year?
Other native shrubs I purchased for this year include a buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and a black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa). These will both be companions for those same species purchased last year. I typically don't buy two shrubs of one species at a time because I want to see how a particular shrub will fare in my yard before committing to another. Last year's buttonbush and chokeberry are doing wonderfully, so I got another of each.
Unfortunately, I only woke up a few years ago to the importance of planting native species on my property. Until then I thought only of planting perennials, thinking these plants were the answer to pollinators. But I didn't understand that to truly maintain a healthy population of pollinators, we must all plant native because most moths, butterflies, and bees can feed only on plants with which they have evolved in the particular ecosystem. There's much to learn on this topic and lots of information available online. Here's wishing you a wonderful Earth Day and many, many more to come!
March 19, 2026
Welcome to the
Spring Equinox
2026
Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, my favorite season of the year! I say this each year because this is the season that makes me giddy with joy, something akin to what kids feel about the Christmas season.
Planting seeds, watching them sprout, and assisting them to grow into healthy seedlings to plant into the garden is a joyous time. Here you see several pots of butterfly weed that I seeded on March 10 (pictured among the display of packets below). These seeds are tricky and take anywhere from 10 to 40 days to germinate, that is, to poke above the soil. These particular seeds benefit from cold stratification, which is to refrigerate them for 30 days between wet paper towels. I didn't do that but rather refrigerated all the seed packets to keep them fresh. That said, I did put them outside in pots on March 10 to mimic cold stratification, which of course is simply a procedure to mimic Nature's own overwintering of seeds. Let's see if it works.
Learning to garden is mostly about learning from your mistakes--ha! Today, I potted about ten or more containers of tomatoes. No fancy treatments needed for tomatoes. Just start them early enough indoors and then place them in a window with sun and keep them moist, of course. Anywhere from 10 days to two weeks (sometimes longer), they''ll germinate, and you're on your to fresh, succulent tomatoes!
February 21, 2026
Welcome to My 2026 Garden
Hello again! If you read my last post in December, I listed my "picks" for this year's vegetable garden. Well, that list has expanded since I get so excited about the upcoming growing season. I typically buy seeds from a few providers but this year, thus far, I've only ordered from Seed Savers. They offer "heritage" seeds, unadulterated by today's genetic modifications.
But to the point, my garden plans now include the addition of some native wild flowers for birds and pollinators, including butterfly weed (so necessary to Monarchs), New England aster, and prairie clover.
My herb list includes dill, parsley, and cillantro.
And my vegetables and fruits include tomatoes, red onion, kale, beets, cucumber, spinach, and melon. Given that I'm 70 years old, this is an ambitious list, but I'm up for it! Too, I recognize value in having alternatives to grocery store produce. Of course, this is not an option for most people. But I suspect that community gardens will be a growing feature in our suburban, and even urban, communities.
If you want to see the process, check back. I'll show you want it takes.
Till then . . .
.
Getting Ready for Spring 2026!
December 19, 2025
Why am I posting an image of spring when winter is about to start in two days? Because this is when you plan your spring garden, if not before! I plant flowers and vegetables every year and in recent years added native bushes.
Even if you live in an apartment, if you have a sunny window, you can grow herbs or flowers. Some communities even offer residents communal gardening plots though that's still pretty rare. Check with your local governement to see what might be available.
If you've a backyard with some sunny space, then you're ready to go! I was just creating a list of my must have veggies to start the planning process. Your list will be different than mine but here's an example of my "wish list": tomatoes, potatoes, kale, beets, spinach, cilantro, onions, cucumbers, and dill. I'm adding dill specifically for bees and butterflies since their flowers are excellent food sources of pollen and nectar.
As to my flower garden, in recent years I've awakened to the reality that people with yards need to assist local wildlife by planting native species of flowers. In the past, I never understood the importance of planting for local wildlife, including insects, but I'm learning. In recent years, I've been planting milkweed, butterfly weed, coneflowers, bee balm, black-eyed susan . . . and more. Your area of the country will have its own list of native flowers.
According to Doug Tallamy, an entomologist and author of books on preserving habitat for wildlife, home owners with backyards will be the lifeline for our animal species. Preserves and parks are simply inadequate to maintain our populations of pollinators, birds, and mammal species that are all dwindling fast.
So, if you've the yard, the time, and the inclination, join a growing community all over the country who want to reclaim space for Mother Earth and her children! Don't worry about not knowing where to start, everyone has to learn bit by bit. Start by picking up seeds at your local stores or greenhouses and go from there. Good Luck on a wonderful journey of discovery.
October 17, 2025
Bee Sleeping in a Flower
Not sure but this looks to me to be a honeybee asleep in a flower blossom. The flower is chicory, a wild flower in the aster family. I love its lavender shades, always striking to see. And chicory blooms well into the fall, which provides nectar (and sleeping accommodations) for various bee species. Solitary bees and male bumblebees are the likely sleepover guests but occasionally you might find a honeybee, though they typically go home to the hive at night.
September 19, 2025
Monarch Visits My Own Stand of Goldenrod
Just moments ago, I was out in my yard to see the number and variety of bees feeding on my stand of goldenrod (there are 32 species of native goldenrod in Pennsylvania). Goldenrod is a "go-to" plant for all manner of pollinators in late summer and early fall. In fact, my goldenrod only began to bloom a couple weeks ago. Seeing such a variety of bee species, including the Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) on these stunning yelllow flowers gives me great satisfaction because I know I'm doing my part in helping our ecosystem. And, then, to my delight, a Monarch butterfly came flying in, an especially honored guest! (See my post/photo directly below to understand why.)
August 24, 2025
Migrating Monarchs
Yesterday, I was sitting with my dog on the bank of Marsh Creek in Gettysburg when a Monarch flew by. What a delight! As you might know from many of my previous posts (most recent directly below), I love Monarchs and want to help them thrive. Well, I counted myself lucky to see this beautiful butterfly but did not, in that moment, understand what I was seeing. Let me explain.
An mage of a Monarch taken 15 years ago on my previous property.
You see, a few moments later, I saw another Monarch fly by exactly as the first, and I should add that both were definitely going somewhere. That is, they were not flitting around inspecting flowers but flying with purpose. Then I thought, Could this be a flyway for Monarchs? Like birds that follow specific migratory routes when heading to southern latitudes, Monarchs also follow particular routes. (Here's a web site that provides some specifics: https://beecityusa.org/5-monarch-migration-facts/
When yet another Monarch followed in pursuit of the prior two, I knew this theory was likely fact: I had a front row seat to migrating Monarchs following, for a time, Marsh Creek on their route southward through eastern states of the US. As if this story could get better, Henry (my dog) and I had one final delightful surprise. We decided to walk upstream in the low running water. And who do you think we met on the way? If you say, Another Monarch? You'd be right! But this butterfly was flying in the middle of the creek and landed on a rock before us, which I interpreted as a greeting!
Such are the wonders for those who wish to sit with Mother Nature.
Once home, I checked online to see if Marsh Creek was a migratory route for Monarchs, and it is! I also checked on when Monarchs begin to migrate, which is in mid August. That means, Henry and I have weeks ahead to enjoy this amazing journey of the Monarchs to their wintering grounds in the central highlands of Mexico. Let's all wish them well!
June 18, 2025
Grow Milkweed and Golden Rod for Monarchs
Thirty years ago, Monarch Butterflies were a common sight in the summer. Not so now. If I see two or three throughout the entire season, I count myself lucky. You can imagine, then, how pleased I was yesterday to see a Monarch sailing over this stand of Common Milkweed. (Sorry, no camera available to take that shot.)
I'm hopeful that this butterfly enjoyed nectar from the open blooms. And I like to imagine that she laid some eggs on the underside of the leaves. If so, these will grow into caterpillars that will eat these same leaves. Over the summer weeks, these caterpillars grow in size to become large and plump. Thereafter, the caterpillar will create a cocoon (called a chrysalis) within which nothing less than a miracle occurs.
The caterpillar "dissolves" into a formless state from which it reforms itself into a dazzling orange and black Monarch Butterfly!
Common Milkweed blooms in clusters of flowers. Here you see some open clusters and some not yet in bloom.
Monarch caterpillars eat only the leaves of milkweed plants. And the butterfly that eventually emerges from its chrysalis will be hungry! So be sure that you grow goldenrod plants to accompany the milkweed. I've many goldenrod plants growing nearby but these will not bloom until autumn. (See an image of goldenrods in bloom below in my September 22, 2024 posting.)
May 2, 2025
Plant Native Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees
Insects are in big trouble here on planet Earth. Consider moths and butterflies whose members have decreased by some 20 percent since the year 2000 (Science Journal, March 2025). There are many factors contributing to these declines including the loss of habitat.
America has millions upon millions of acres of backyards, most of which are mowed into sterile strips of lawn decorated with ornamental shrubs and trees. The problem is that most insects rely on native plants to feed and lay their eggs. Local flora has evolved along with local insects to provide the habitat both need. Insects are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, without them, ecosystems would collapse, pollination would cease, and organic wastes would build up and not decompose.
Scary, right?
The good news is that we can all help return our planet to a healthy balance by planting native. Here's an image of wild columbine growing in my backyard. I planted this bed a few years ago
and these beautiful flowers return every year to provide food for hawk moths and bumble bees
and hummingbirds to name a few.
Want to learn more? Here's a great place to start:
The Native Plant Channel
March 20, 2025
How Do You Celebrate the First Day of Spring?
Well if you're me, you take a walk with your dog and enjoy the sounds and sights of a lovely day. And if you take time to look, listen, and smell, some animal or plant or cloud or breeze will likely give you a message.
And I couldn't be happier with the message delivered me this day, my favorite of the entire year, by an Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis. She sang for several minutes to me from a tree branch not far above my head!
I didn't have a camera along, so I'll share with you a wonderful image of a bluebird I took several years ago in the autumn on this same property.
