In the Beginning it Was an Overgrown Field

2014

The Vision

My partner, Hugh, is helping his twin sister, Nell, create a 2 acre Pollinator Habitat on this family’s beautiful ancestral Motherland here in Booneville. Their vision is to co-create a friendly supportive habitat for ALL POLLINATORS including BUTTERFLIES, BEES, MOTHS and INSECTS. This includes supporting the BIRDS, smaller MAMMALS and AMPHIBIANS.  The Butterfly Sanctuary looks like a Butterfly from Space as this view shows it: 

How To

They begin by REMOVING INVASIVES to make room to create a more friendly and sustaining environment/habitat. Such things as killing out the invasive grasses and plants, cutting choking Vines out, cutting back the voracious Privet. then planting 100s of HOST TREES and seeding many NATIVE PLANTS and FLOWERS that support the local and some endangered Insects and Wildlife. This is allowing the supportive natives to emerge in greater numbers, like the Milkweed that the Monarchs love is in full bloom now. Many more came up this year with the removal of the non-native grasses and vines that choked them out.

In 2014 a piece of property that sits right next to the Family Main House. 5 acres and some of the land wraps around the back of the orchard. There is a house and some very old outbuildings on the land. Hugh’s Father & Mother bought it with the idea they would transform the house into a “Library” to house their family books, memorabilia and more, thus it is currently called the Library House. The back fields were grown up tall with Grasses and wild plants. The edges were lined with Trees and thick plant growth so dense it was difficult to see what was there.

In the fall of 2014, Hugh became interested in cutting a path around the perimeters of the land so he could take us all on a walk to see what was there. He was amazing the way he cut his way through the woods and tangles, cleaning up the land and opening it up for a walkabout tour. This is how the energy of the land began to change.

Somewhere along the timeline, Hugh’s twin sister, Nell, asked for permission to create a Butterfly Sanctuary. With permission granted, the family began to envision what it could be.

It has been a fascinating process to watch from the conception of the idea to each day as the plan unfolds.

Clearing the Land

Feb. 2015

Here is a sequence of photos in Feb. 2015 when Hugh first started clearing the land:

Hugh Clearing the Pollinator Habitat.

Moving to the right, here is an old Barn and some trees to the left he was nurturing back to health after they were almost bulldozed over..

This is the wild Blackberry patch and the beginnings of brush piles to create protection and homes for the wildlife, which includes Birds, wild Rabbits, Mice, Weasels, Racoons, Groundhogs and more.

This is looking across the main field where the Wild Flower seeds will be planted. The invasive grasses have to be poisoned to make room for them. None of us liked the idea of using poisons, and they looked into alternatives and found the successful established Pollinator Habitats had to do this as certain grasses and vines are extremely difficult to remove. The little grove of tree just to the right of the old barn drew me to it. The field continues back to the edge of the property and sits behind the Main Boone House.

This is Penguin Grove. I particularly was drawn to clear it. There is a rock inside at one of the entrances that looks like a Penguin. The Spirit of the Grove had very specific requests about what it wanted done.

Check back later as more is added to this page.