Mary R. Davidsaver's Blog

My Milkweed and Monarch Year of Panic Gardening

My 2025 Monarch Season inDavenport, IA started out with failure. My crop of millkweed wasextremely limited, much more so than last year. I had no idea whywhat few plants I had were only growing along the edge of my garden,and new shoots were struggling to grow in the nearby lawn. How couldI feed any more than the first few arrivals? I consulted my bestgo-to resource books and blogs. 

Firstup was my favorite reference book Monarchs and Milkweed: AMigrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story ofCo-evolution by Anurag Agrawal. By re-reading and looking at someselect photos, I figured out that my problem was the over crowding,and over growth, of nectar plants in my small garden. I had no ideathat milkweed was so sensitive. I thought it could force its way upwherever it wanted. I started digging up flowering plants that I hadduplicates of in other beds. I was amazed at how dense the root massof purple coneflowers, rudbeckia, and Shasta daises could be. It wasno wonder my milkweed was trying to escape.

Whatstarted out as selective thinning soon turned into wholesaledestruction as I realized I needed a thorough garden makeover. Theloss of an indoor butterfly rearing season would be the unfortunateresult. My goal had to be more milkweed next year at all cost.

AsI cleared out areas of nectar plants, mulching and watering as Iwent, I discovered that my efforts were being rewarded much soonerthan I thought possible. New milkweed plants were coming up from seedI’d sewn earlier. Fresh shoots from established plants were makingtheir way up to the surface and thriving. I would be able to feed thehatchlings of the first Monarch moms and perhaps a few more.

Ibought and read Milkweed Quickstart Guide for Monarch ButterflieseBook by Tony Gomez, the host ofmonarchbutterflygarden.net. I appreciated his new ebook as a valuableresource that’s a great companion for the invaluable information heshares on his blog. Milkweed is touchy about propagating andtransplanting. I’ve had some success over years of trying, but it’sbeen limited. I was hoping for a miracle for this year, and thoughttropical milkweed, as shown in Tony’s ebook, would be it.Unfortunately, my timing was off. I could not find local sources fortropical milkweed. I have to wait until next spring. The same goesfor other new varieties of milkweed plants. Tony’s ebook listedcontact information for many plant nurseries, and one had a discountoffer.

Mysaving grace was my local Davenport library branch. Several years agoI became a volunteer gardener at that branch and I got the powersthat be to leave their milkweed plants alone. To let them attractMonarch butterflies. I was able to collect eggs and release someadults to prove it could be done. Going back to that branch thisspring I noticed how well their milkweed plants were doing. I alsonoticed that some in the parking lot were going to be mowed down. Iwas able to harvest those leaves and prepare them for my freezer. Iwas going to have enough food for more Monarchs. I collected eggsfrom my garden and the library’s.

Asof mid-September I’ve added 54 adults to this years migration. It’sa great ending for a year that I’d thought would remain a failure.

OtherInformation & Data

CaterpillarEscapes: 0

UnexplainedCaterpillar Deaths: 0

CaterpillarDiseases & Parasites: 0

AccidentalDeaths: 1

ChrysalisProblems: 3 (no deaths)

ButterflyEnclosure Issues: 1 (no deaths)

FinalResults

Howmany monarchs survived to reach Butterhood? 54

Accidentaldeaths: 1

Diseaseor parasite issues: 0

Unexplaineddeaths: 0

Healthymales: 31

Healthyfemales: 23

Survivalrate: 98%

Lessons Learned 2025:Don’t overcrowd the milkweed with nectar plants. Potted milkweedsare a great source for egg laying. Always check the zipper!

MigrationMemories 2025: I don’t usually name mycaterpillars/butterflies, but the Lazarus trio was the exception. Onegot its tummy stuck on a leaf. I trimmed the leaf so it wasn’thanging upside down and struggling hopelessly. The next day it moltedand was fine, even ate the discarded skin. Two others had hangingissues. I taped one up to the top of a mesh cage. It emerged OK. Theother had attached itself on the side of an ice cream container. Ifound a way to support the Blue Bunny container so the chrysalis wasin a semi-hanging position with space for the wings to dry. The adultemerged with good wings. They all survived their trials andtribulations.

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS

 

     Howto celebrate Ten Plus Years of Blogging? Two hundred and eighty blogposts (2014-2024) and counting. The way I figure my word count,280×500, equals roughly 140,000 words. All my own! (No AI. Not thatthere was any when I started.) Okay, the count has slowed down somefrom those first few years, but I now have incentive to do better.

     Goingforward with this blog, I can think about the 240 or so words that Ishould perhaps consider not using, as per an official governmentdocument. In case you’re wondering, here they are:

• activism• activists • advocacy • advocate • advocates • barrier •barriers • biased • biased toward • biases • biases towards •bipoc • black and latinx • community diversity • communityequity • cultural differences • cultural heritage • culturallyresponsive • disabilities • disability

• discriminated• discrimination • discriminatory • diverse backgrounds •diverse communities • diverse community • diverse group •diverse groups • diversified • diversify • diversifying •diversity and inclusion • diversity equity • enhance thediversity • enhancing diversity • equal opportunity • equality• equitable • equity • ethnicity • excluded • female •females • fostering inclusivity

• genders• hate speech • hispanic minority • historically • implicitbias • implicit biases • inclusion • inclusive •inclusiveness • inclusivity • increase diversity • increase thediversity • indigenous community • inequalities • inequality

• inequitable• inequities • institutional • lgbt • marginalize •marginalized • minorities • minority • multicultural •polarization • political • prejudice • privileges • promotingdiversity • race and ethnicity • racial • racial diversity •racial inequality • racial justice • racially • racism •sense of belonging • sexual preferences • social justice •sociocultural • socioeconomic • status • stereotypes •systemic • trauma • under appreciated

• underrepresented • under served • underrepresentation •underrepresented • underserved • undervalued • victim • women• women and underrepresented

(Source:https://gizmodo.com/the-list-of-trump..., National Science Foundation.]

     Onething is for sure, I’m not going over my past 140,000 words to seeif they would clear this new hurtle. The original purpose for thisblog was to explore the challenges of writing my first novel, whichwas based on my living in a small town with an historic legacy.Fortunately, Bishop Hill, Illinois, Sweden, Swedes, and what not arenot included on this list or any other lists of official sanctions …yet. I should be good for a while longer. 

A Reminder On One Way To Survive Despair

 I was sorting through files looking for one thing and found another. This quote from Barbara Kingsolver is a favorite and worth sharing. I strive to follow this advice and look for joy and be hopeful. It's easiest in a garden. Hardest at the keyboard.

Excerpt from High Tide in Tucson

“Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job or a limb or a loved one, a graduation, bringing a new baby home: it’s impossible to think at first how this all will be possible. Eventually, what moves it all forward is the subterranean ebb and flow of being alive among the living.

In my own worst seasons, I’ve come back from the colorless world of despair by forcing myself to look hard, for a long time at a single glorious thing: a flame of red geranium outside my bedroom window. And then another: my daughter in a yellow dress. And another: the perfect outline of a full, dark sphere behind the crescent moon. Until I learned to be in love with my life again. Like a stroke victim retraining new parts of the brain to grasp lost skills, I have taught myself joy, over and over again.

It’s not such a wide gulf to cross, then, from survival to poetry. We hold fast to the passions of endurance that buckle and creak beneath us, dovetailed, tight as a good wooden boat to carry us onward. And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another—that is surely the basic instinct. Baser even than hate, the thing with teeth, which can be stilled with a tone of voice or stunned by beauty. If the whole world of the living has to turn on the single point of remaining alive, that pointed endurance is the poetry of hope. The thing with feathers.”

Barbara Kingsolver from High Tide in Tucson, Essays from Now or Never

Review of “A Handful of Nothing” by Ken Gullette.

 

The author, Ken Gullette, gaveme a copy of this book exactly one year ago. I’ve enjoyed readingit, all be it slowly, because this is a book that shouldn’t berushed. It is an asset to be savored for its calming scenes andpassages that require a bit of reflection.

Whatcomes to my mind first are a few thoughts in chapter 80, page 183:

“Themaster continued, ‘Just like this stone, you are being shaped bythe stream of life. … Seekingperfection is an endless pursuit. But striving to be a better personeach day—that is a journey worth taking.

Heplaced the stone in the monk’s hand. ‘When you see a stone, letit remind you that perfection is not the goal. The true path lies inembracing your imperfections and transforming them through continuousgrowth. It is in the daily effort to be better, to spread kindnessand truth, and to see the world as it is without judgment orsupernatural delusions—that is where true wisdom is found.’”

Forme, that was an instant reminder of a gemstone I purchased ages agofrom a gem and mineral show. The original piece of transparentgemstone material would have been heavily marked with alternatingcolors, banding in blues and yellows, and with a shift inorientation. Not the kind of quality usually valued by thetraditional jewelry trade. However, what was done by the craftsperson, the lapidary, transformed that piece of flawed material andmade it into a remarkable gem. The stone was cut to reveal achevron-like pattern when held up to the light. Getting that patternrequired the crafts person to use all their skill as the final stonewas quite thin and would be difficult to mount into a piece ofjewelry.

Thatgemstone is a constant reminder for me to look beyond the ordinary,the casual correctness of accepted standards, and to seek beauty inall its forms in the natural world and in human culture. Whether itis a leaf, a flower, a butterfly, or a man-made object, beauty is allaround us if we pause long enough to notice.

Thatis from only one chapter among eighty-eight. It is for each readerfind their own gems within this meditative book as they pursue theirjourney.

Seasoned Citizens Write-in Event

 

Seasoned Citizens

Write-in

For NaNoWriMo 2024

All genres & All ages

Welcome

CASI/Volunteer Room

Mondays, 1 PM-3 PM

Nov:  4th   11th    18th    25th

 

This year’s NationalNovel Writing Month has officially begun. I’ve registered, entered my firstword counts, and have embarked on a mission not just to help my writing but tohelp others who may need a change of pace or place.

It allhappened quite recently and by happenstance. The volunteer room at CASI becameavailable and I pitched my idea for its use for the next month. That workedout. Getting things set up with NaNoWriMo folks was a bit trickier but it allseems to be in place as well. Now all I need is to get the word out.

The name: SeasonedCitizens is a favorite saying I’ve heard tossed around the Scribe Tribemeetings I’ve attended. I take it to mean a “Senior” citizen whose lifeexperiences have left them with an interesting mix of trials and triumphs. All thingsthat are worthy of putting down on paper by pen or pencil or typed out for a computerjournal.

Write-in is a group action whereby a variety ofwriters come together for the express purpose of increasing their word count.The personal project, whether it’s a novel or short story or whatever, does notmatter. The goal is sitting down and writing: something, somewhere, somehow,with a minimum of distractions.

CASI, Center for Active Senior, Inc, offersa perfect venue for all things that encourage people to exercise, play games, workon crafts, learn something new, or just mingle. The volunteer room is easy tofind, just down the hall from the front desk. Look for the above signfor a Month of Mondays writing action.

Checking outCASI and Seasoned Citizen’s is free.   

Recent Marketing Information from a Mystery Convention

 

This information camefrom the back cover of Glass Houses, a Thriller/Sci-Fi book by MadelineAshby I picked up at Bouchercon 2024 Nashville. I thought it was interesting and possibly useful for potential promotional purposes.

 

“MARKETING CAMPAIGN

-Author events

-Nationalprint and online publicity campaign

-Bookstagramand Book Tok influencer campaign

-Dedicatedsocial media campaign, including sweepstakes, social media posts, and exclusivecontent reveals

-Early-readerreview campaign, including NetGalley, Edelweiss, and Goodreads

-ARCmailings to booksellers, librarians, media, and industry bigmouths

-Specialpromotions tied to major conventions and festivals [Bouchercon!]

-Librarymarketing campaign

-Newsletterpromotion

-Indie Nextcampaign

-Book cluboutreach and promotions

-Readinggroup guide”

 

“FOR MOREINFORMATION, CONTACT:

TorPublicity, tpgpublicity@tor.com

Agent: SallyHarding, CookeMcDermid Literary Management”

 

And YES,I wrote reviews for this book for Goodreads and Amazon.

Enjoy Mysteries?

 

Second Avenue Players present:

My Monster vs Your Monster

By Mary R. Davidsaver

Friday, Oct. 4th at 11:00AM

CASI, 1035 W. Kimberly Rd, Davenport,IA

 

A little background for this play:

When I started working on my first novel, I knewnothing of writing on a large scale, that being more than 600 words. Nowherenear what was needed for a novel. I only knew it had to be a mystery.

Both things, delivering 70,000 coherent words andcrafting an understandable mystery, presented learning experiences for me.

When I moved to the Quad-Cities in 2011, I signed upfor Fall novel writing workshop with the Midwest Writing Center. It was a greatexperience, well worth the time and expense.

Afterwards, I was encouraged to join a writers’ groupand tried out several local groups. (I’ve been with Writers’ Studio thelongest.)

Fast forward to late February 2012 and MWC’s annual IronPen Contest, which is a 24-hr. writing challenge based on a prompt.

I went with the Fiction category and threw ineverything I’d learned up to that point about the workings of the mystery genre,writers’ critique groups, plus a big dose of humor, and I won a first-placemedal. It became the basis for a one-act play for the readers theatre groupthat makes its home at CASI.

 

Introducing our cast members for Friday's performance:

Mark Davidsaveras Marvin (Marv), a horror writer and Zombiephile.

Myrna Stateas Lois, a retired teacher hoping to write a memoir.

Larry D’Autremontas Harold, the beleaguered group leader.

Cindy Irwinas Beth, the newest member of the group.

Bev Dean as Sally, Beth’sfriend and fellow writer.

Katie Britcheras a poet looking to expand her writing.

Jane Cranstonas Georgette, a romance writer looking for a little love in everything.

The play begins as everyone has returned from a break…

Docome and enjoy!

DidI mention it’s FREE?!

Monarch Summary 2024

 

The butterfly season here in suburban Davenport, IA had arocky start. I only found a handful of eggs and had limited success withraising adults. I released two adults in mid-July.

A long dry spell of seeing no Monarchs at all followed. Nofertile females from May through most of July. Then in late July there was onefemale who gifted my small island of milkweed, garden and potted milkweed plants,with 31 eggs. I marked the precious leaves by clipping the tips. The next day Igathered 29 eggs. The missing eggs disappeared overnight. Of those 29 survivingeggs, I got 27 hatchlings.

Last year I found using floral tubes was the best way to handlelarge numbers of small caterpillars all at once. Worked for me this year aswell.

Along with a shortage of Monarch eggs, I had to deal with ashortage of milkweed leaves. It was difficult, but I managed with a few donatedplants and discovered that frozen milkweed leaves can be used when there aremany hungry mouths to feed late-stage caterpillars. I was able to release 18adults Aug 24-25.

Because of travel plans I asked a friend and fellow Monarchfoster mom to tend to the last 9 chrysalises. They all made it. I then found 3small late caterpillars and my friend took those in to feed and care for aswell. They were all released by Sept 20th. So, this year's total for me was 32adults. That number pales compared to the 85 adults I released in 2023.

Bouchercon 2024 Recap

 

Bouchercon 2024 was held in Nashville, TN at GaylordOpryland Resort. Yes, one must resort to calling that place a resort. It was somuch bigger than a hotel. When I said I wanted to go outside to see the waterand light show my husband had to remind me that there was “no” outside, per se.The whole place is enclosed in more glass than the British Museum. It was ahuge hot house for thousands of exotic plant specimens. Water flowed throughout:from a meandering river with waterfalls coursing down walls ofrock, to shooting up out of a pool and made to dance to music, the sound ofmoving water was everywhere.

With maps in hand, we eventually got acquainted withour section of the immense place and found the meeting rooms for our paneldiscussions and the ballrooms for the larger events. We writers and readers hadthe place pretty much to ourselves from Wednesday till the young dancers, andtheir families, showed up, en masse, on Saturday. I can tell you that tap shoesmake a lot of noise on indoor cement walkways.

That is all background atmosphere to the seriousbusiness of “Murder and Mayhem in Music City,” the official title for thisconference. There was a chosen theme song for each panel. Dan’s was “How Deepis Your Love.” Mine was “Taking Care of Business.” Prizes were given away tothose who could answer questions about each song. Prizes meaning books. Booksand more books were given away at every opportunity. It was heaven for avidreaders and retired librarians.

I explained in blog posts on https://marydavidsaver.blogspot.com/what my three main promotional objectives were: being on a panel; make anattractive donation for the silent auction; and advertise for The DiscoveryZone, a new event on Friday night.

The panel went well. I don’t think I embarrassedmyself. My prize packet, Jodie Toohey’s book of marketing basics and a pad ofinvoices, went to a very appreciative young woman.

My collection of Bishop Hill related foodie itemsfound a good home with a woman from central Illinois who had been to BishopHill. She wanted the cookbook and the Lingonberries. The Gevalia coffee wouldbe a no brainer. I hated to part with Lori Morressey’s handmade basket, but itwas the perfect size for the presentation. Same with the “Just here for thePie” T-shirt. I will have to look for another on my next visit, which will beAg Days at the end of September.

That leaves the Discovery Zone adventure of beingwalking billboards for three days. At least two people had the courage to admitthat they were influenced by our spectacular customized T-shirts. Everyoneelse, and there was a good size crowd, probably didn’t realize they had beeninfluenced by our promotion. They were too busy enjoying the free food. We goteleven dollars in cash donations, which was a minor miracle in a cashlessenvironment. I think the indoor river held most of the available spare changeas people made their personal wishes. I had promised to match donations up tothe first one hundred dollars. I kept that promise and rounded the total up forthe Nashville Public Library Foundation.

Like most shy people I’ve needed time to decompress,relax, and recharge after getting back from a busy six days. I’ve been sittingoutside, the real outside, surveying my backyard and appreciating being home.

All in all, it’s like the Swedish saying:

Borta är bra. Hemmet är bäst.

Away is good. Home is best.

MY DISCOVERY ZONE CHARITY FUNDRAISER

 

“Not the Usual Suspects” seemedlike a good idea for a promotional link between my next book in the Bishop HillMystery series and Bouchercon’s chosen charity, The Nashville PublicLibrary Foundation. The idea is a variation on bidding to name a character inan author’s next book. Here I’ve picked two portraits from the collected workof Olof Krans, a Swedish folk artist with extensive ties to the Bishop Hill colonyand figured that asking people to vote on their fictional fate with their pocketchange would be fun and painless.

I thought of the many positiveangles: The Discovery Zone, as a new event, would gain some notice; I’dget some attention for my panel appearance and my books; but the biggest dealfor me would be Bishop Hill getting some much-needed attention at a time when Illinois statefunding is once again on a downward spiral and state-owned historical buildingsare suffering from neglect.

Picking the portraits waseasy enough. My husband helped out by choosing Peter Helstrom, a cantankerous lookingformer schoolteacher. I chose the more mild-mannered visage of Olof E. Krans,the artist’s grandfather, who had the potential to add to a backstory I wasworking on.

Dreaming up inventive ideasto advertise the whole enterprise was fun … and potentially embarrassing. Wemade up t-shirts imprinted with our chosen portraits withthe caption “SAVE ME” on each, we basically turned ourselves into walkingbillboards for the three days leading up to The Discovery Zone premiere.

All this is brand new forme, so whatever happens or doesn’t happen will make for an interesting discussionat the Taking Care of Business panel on Sunday morning. It might keep meawake and attentive.

The catch, there’s alwaysone, do people carry pocket change any more?

I’m going to have toexplore the donation opportunities of Zettle, my credit card reader. It mightbecome an important resource since Gaylord Opryland advertises it is “cashless.” Justone more prepping step to do before checking in for the BoucherconConference next week.