monarch of the Weed Patch

Amid the manicured lawns on either side, my parents choose to manage the "lawn" (referred to fondly as the Weed Patch by neighbors), at Musket Point for wildlife. Native wildflowers are grown, grass is cut only in paths throughout, shrubs and thickets are encouraged. As a result, birds and butterflies abound, particularly welcomed are the monarch butterflies who visit for food and  to lay their eggs on the milkweed. Birds from Ruby-throated hummingbirds to Great blue herons visit the flowers and the shoreline,  phoebes, robins, wrens, swallows and song sparrows nest in the birdhouses and trees. Morning starts with wren song and evening ends with fireflies. Despite the fact that midnight vandals (in the form of raccoons trying to outwit my dad's latest raccoon resistant garbage can security system) sometimes disturb the night time quiet, it is home to creatures great and small.