I am so Thrilled/Scared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got asked today by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter Audubon Society to present a slide show on Butterflies, their caterpillars and host plants at the September meeting. I am thrilled but scared too lol. I have never done any public speaking

Congratulations!!! I'm sure you'll do just fine. Your knowledge of butterflies is awesome, as are your pictures!!! Just feel the butterflies and not the nerves :)

PiggyPoo :0)

You can start out the talk by saying that you have butterflies in your stomach.

that will be the truth lol

That's too kewl, Congratulations. Power POint makes a really nice presentation and very user friendly. You'll do great.
Liz

Donna, in the last couple of years I have had to give presentations at work in front of large groups of people and it is still not something I enjoy, but I found out I can do it and do it well. This is obviously a subject near and dear to your heart about which you are very knowledgeable. And because of that you will do just fine. Like they always say...picture them in their underwear (the audience, not the butterflies LOL). You'll be great!.

gram

Thanks Gram. At least I have plenty of time to prepare for it. It has to be about 45 minutes long. I think I can do it when I get off into the nectar and host plants especially since the coast is so dessimated of plant life right now from Hurricane Katrina. I'll push everyone toward establishing wildlfie habitats if they aren't already. Just had my new place certified by the National Wildlife Federation

Please let us know how it goes

Donna,

That's wonderful and exciting!!!

I've been looking at your pics that you posted the link to, and although I haven't finished yet, but they're all so wonderful! I got it bookmarked and plan to look at it more when I have the time. Love all the butterflies and the birds! All great ones and so many of them!

Pat yourself on the back and 2 thumbs up!!!

:-))

Marilyn

Congrats Donna!!
Once you get started on your favorite subject you won't stop!! What a great experience it will be.
Yes, keep us posted.

you'll do great! I always read your posts for great info. Wish I could see the finished product! Ruth

That's great!!! Am positive you will do an outstanding job and the world will have more butterfliers added to the list after your talk :o) Everyone will quickly get hooked on your enthusiasm and photos!!!

I've done a few talks and learned people get hooked very quickly on the frequent flyers...like Monarchs, Queens, Swallowtails, Sulphurs and Fritillaries. Although this area is known for it's rarities only a very few will ever see them or even attract them to their yard. Many of the larval hosts that attract these rarities are also hard to obtain. So stick with the colorful frequent flyers. I get email from school teachers quite often - they as well as the children are so excited to find eggs and caterpillars on the easily accessible larval hosts and have enjoyed watching the butterfly life cycle.

Focus on the larval hosts that are easy to grow or purchase locally. Nothing quite makes an impression like seeing gobs of monarch cats on milkweed or gulf fritillaries on passion flower vines. Seeing those big bird poo swallowtail cats and the colorful black swallowtail cats gets everyone hooked too.

Use lots of visual aids...photos of butterflies from your area, the colorful flowers and caterpillars feeding on larval hosts too. It also helps to hand out a list of the best nectar and larval host plants.

Maybe include a simple sketch of a small herb garden designed for swallowtails. I saw a very basic drawing of one that was a circle with a cross in it. Rue, fennel, dill and parsley were planted in each quarter of the circle :o)

I always carry a three ring binder photo album of butterflies I've photographed with me. Everyone always oohs and aahs over the pretty pictures :o) I also take my books too - butterfly identification, caterpillar identification and other butterfly books that have lots of large colorful photographs.

~ Cat

Donna, I've been going back as I have time and enjoying your bird pics as well. Just great!

gram

thanks you all. I have until september to get evrything together. I already started putting notes together to be able to give hand outs of the most important info and larval host plants. I think once I get over the initial opening it will all flow with no problems.

congrats Donna..you'll be great..September is the best time for Monarchs

Donna congrats!!!!!You'll do just fine. I remember my first time doing the public speaking was just about the scariest thing I've ever done.I got thru it but I wished I had prepared a little differantly.I should have made my outline and rough copy of my presentation.Then I would have done a time trail of the whole thing to my self in front of the mirror.Then I would have fine tuned and put it together and done it again ,practice in front of a live person and timed it again.If I'd had left a Q&A for the last 5 minutes It would have been alot better.
It took me a few times of doing it to work out the first 10 minutes of nerves but I did get thru it. The getting everything in that you want in is the trick,so I think the time trials are important
White Hydrangea has it right about the butterflies in your stomach.
You'll do fine.
Good Luck
Don

wow Robin love that monarch tree. I just started doing that. Putting dead tree limbs in the cage for them to molt on. Have a few Gulf Frits on a limb and now the Pipevines are getting on their sticks. I have them in the Florida room since the rain washed away every cat off every vine outside(4 1/2" in 2 days). It was desperately needed though. They are on my A. fimbriata in a hanging basket. I put big sticks in it for them. Oh the Erythrina bidwillii is fixing to bloom. I can't wait.

Thanks for the encouragement Don and everyone ;-)

Robin,

Really love that photo of the bonsai chrysalis tree...and the other one too. Those are truly works of art :o)

~ Cat

the first time that I spoke about butterflies (to adults) was at the annual herb gardening meeting in Houston...butterflies in the herb garden...

I had a real neat screened box with a lid that was also screened...full of caterpillars chrysalis

we have some rare polydamas right now

I can send you some, they are all over my fimbiata

I am ready to give away a bunch of ginger...too




This message was edited Jul 10, 2006 10:59 PM

This message was edited Jul 10, 2006 11:01 PM

Robin I would love some of the cats since it is not something I have ever seen here but wouldn't they die in the mail in this heat??? I would love somemore gingers. Let me know how much postage and will get it right out to you. Thanks ;-)

Joshua has some fimbiata in gallons..covered with cats..I will pick one up tomorrow

I have fimbriata lol, that is what my only surviving cats are on. They all got rained off the trilobata, gigantea, and elegans. I thought you meant sending some of the cats and gingers

the cats will be on the plant LOL

do you think they will survive this heat in shipping???

should be OK..they like heat..I have had the gulf fritillary make the trip

I am anxious to hear how this comes out.

I had many, many cats the first year I lived here and now I am down to just about 0. I think the arieal spraying the county has had to do the past couple of years may be the reason why. I know after they spray you are hard pressed to find just about any kind of bugs. The only thing I still see is Pill bugs, grubs, beetles and of course Mosquitos...............LOL......

o.k. Robin send to me please

Donna, I can sure understand being nervous but I'm sure you will be great. When it's something you truly love and enjoy it is easy to talk about and your enthusiasm and knowledge will just suck them in! :)

One thing you should include is info about raising them indoors. Info on how to bring the milkweed in from the garden and have it stay fresh (which I need help with!) and even growing it in pots. And if you had time you could always include info about tagging and the Monarch WayStations. Do you have a sign? I had my application when they first made them available, but just haven't wanted to pay the $. Not sure why either. ?

And congrats on having your yard certified!!

Robin, how did you get them to pupate on the tree? Do you have it separate and just put them in with it when they are ready? It's really cool! Pooh, I could have used some of this old trumpet vine my parents cut down for a "tree". Maybe they'll have a piece that didn't go to the compost center.

haven't heard about Monarch Way Stations or signs. We don't get a lot of them here that I have seen. I usually don't have more than 2 or 3 except for this winter I raised and released 25 at Christmas. I did bring my habitat signs from the old place and put them up

I had a Lauder's walking stick that died, so I used it for a butterfly tree. I also had 100 gallons of milkweed. I bring in about 20 gallons at a time. I harvest all of the caterpillars and put them on the milkweed in a cage, so the wasps don't get them. When they are ready to go into chrysalis, I put them on the walking stick which is on a four foot plant stand, they go and crawl around and never wonder off.

Robin I just love your Butterfly nursery, that is something to brag about. I'll bet it is something that has alot of lookers just watching who's hatching. That is the best photo I have seen this year. You should enter it in Dave's Photo Contest when he starts accepting entrys.
Congrats on the tree it is just beautiful.

Dee

Sorry Donna, my brain combined your talk with the Monarch's and thought that's what you were going to talk about. But knowing how to find eggs, bring cats and plants indoors is an interesting topic.

Monarch Waystations are just gardens that are filled with both nectar and host plants for them. It encourages people to create a little habitat for the Monarchs and I guess it raises extra money for Monarch Watch. www.monarchwatch.org

Robin, do you leave the milkweed in the containers? I never remember to plant any in pots until it's time to bring some inside. Which reminds me, I bet I need to go feed my little piggies!

I try to have plenty of milkweed in containers, when I cut it back I stick the cuttings in coke cans and they root. Always look for cats on the sides of the containers. In the winter I have big flat wagons that I can roll in and out of the garage. I love the sulphur's too.

Donna how are you going to do the presentation? Are you going to use Powerpoint?
How are you gonna do it and how long do they want it to be? Is there gonna be a Q and A after or during? Do you know what your gonna do? Can you share some of it with us?
Sorry for the 50 questions but I think this is gonna be a great show and I for one would love to be there.....


Dee

I am not totally sure yet. I asked if I was going to have a computer available and she said she was pretty sure. Also need to find out if it has a projection screen or what ever so they can all see the pics. I don't know anything about making a Power Point presentation but I can do a slide show from my Web Shots Albums or down load it all to a disk. I am going to show my pics of the butterflies laying eggs, the eggs, cats at different stages, chryaliss, and newly emerging butterflies. Show pics and discuss host and nectar plants. I plan on putting together some papers to hand on host and nectar plants, bring some cages store bought and handmade for raising cats, maybe have a drawing and give away a few cat cages and a few host/nectar plants. I have plenty of time to get it all together

well sounds like you have a plan at least. I would be lost or at least I think I would. I hope you can show us some of your pictures and maybe do a group for us to look at. Also keep in mind the photo contest later this year. I'll bet you have some real beauties to put in there.

I am so excited for you to do this I know your gonna knock' um out. This would be a real treat and I wish we could have stuff like that around here.

Audubon Society and the Nature Conservacy are the only things we have around here. They have been pushing the birding trails very hard and they have finally came out with a map almost 2 years ago like Florida and Alabama have. I think the object is not only the birds at this point but helping to restore things for all the wildlife right now. We are still in pretty bad shape tree and flower wise. I don't think any of the trees are recovering in Bay St Louis and Waveland from what I have seen on the news. They handed out thousands upon thousands of tree to everyone but it will be years before they grow to any size

Yes that’s about what we have here but they are not very active. I had tried to contact the local chapter here to find out about activities the have and never received a call back. We have several Bird watching clubs and many sites they visit and study. But you never see anything in the paper about any of the activities.

I am just so thankful we have been spared the Hurricanes from hadies as many years as we have. It is sure that we will get one eventually. The last "Bad one" we had was in 1983, Alicia and did she do some damage. I hope we can dodge the bullet a while longer. The Whooping Cranes will be returning soon and we sure don't need any disturbance.

I think about all the damage done to your area Donna and I remember Hurricane Carla back in the 60's and what she did so I know what you’re going through.

Dee


Anyway I love to see the butterflies you all post and I thank you all for making the effort to show us how beautiful they are.

Dee