Mid Winter

January 1st, 2010

Not much is flowering currently, but it appears Spring is just around the corner for coastal Southern California.  Some of the perennials are starting to emerge through the soil.  It inspired me to go out and clean up a bit today.

According to the nearby U.C. Davis’ weather station, we have already had 217 chill hours.  That is great news for the fruit trees in the yard, since most of ours need about 250 or less.

One of my Asclepias, Milkweed, plants had a half dozen Monarch Butterfly caterpillars on it.  I was delighted to find them since the main reason I keep it planted in my garden is for a larval food for them.

To follow where the migration is nationally, here is a link to a monarch migration map.