Beautiful evening reflections captured along the Ohio River in Madison Indiana.
The Ohio River along Madison has always made for some beautiful sunsets and sunrises over the years for me and this evening proved to be another example of that.
This may be the last one for this year but hopefully not forever.
The Monarch is definitely in trouble. With all the problems because of their low population numbers still trying to rebound and habitat loss all along their range, these beautiful animals have a hard road ahead and we may be their only hope.
Plant Milkweed, stop over mowing and discontinuing the use of dangerous herbicides will help bring back their numbers. All of these actions are attainable and will make a difference in their population as well as making a better life for all wildlife.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.
Spent a cold morning hiking to Little Clifty Falls in the Clifty Falls Sate Park near Madison Indiana. Most of the leafs have fallen and we finally received some substantial rainfall the night before so there was good flow in the water.
This has not been one of the better fall seasons for color or water flow for the many waterfalls that we have here in Jefferson County. But there was still enough fall scenes to salvage this season and find I did still find some very beautiful scenes to capture.
Little Clifty falls resides in Clifty Falls Park, the park boasts many smaller falls and cascades along Clifty creek. There are five big falls located in the park with Little Clifty being the smallest of the five.
I was hoping to catch high water flow surrounded by colorful fall leafs but the dry fall put a halt to that. But the park is still beautiful and any day walking the canyons and trails here makes it worth the visit.
Hope you enjoy the pics and if you are looking for a great place to visit in Southern Indiana try spending a day in Clifty Falls State Park.
Finally got to see the Monarchs migrating thru the Madison Indiana area over this past weekend. I think there may still be a few feeding and resting at King’s Daughters Health, where I have captured so many, but I kinda threw my back out Monday and can’t get out to see. So for me it’s over for the year.
What I witnessed was definitely an incredible site, I captured over eight hundred images of them feeding and resting in the beautiful fall wildflowers that cover the fields that surround our Hospital. Every step I took I would flush out two or three butterflies and send them flying into the afternoon sky. Many times I would look up over the goldenrod that covers the grounds and watch them dancing and chasing each other above the forest of wildflowers in search of their next drink of nectar.
It really is amazing that these wonderful little winged gems used our grounds as a way station for their long trip to Mexico. Even though I witnessed hundreds of Monarchs probably less than 5% of them will make it to the mountains where they overwinter. And that is why we must help them with good conservation practices along their journey south.
Milkweed is the key, years ago it was all along our county roads and highways as well as hay fields and ditches. But now these areas get mowed way more frequently then in the past and it is probably the number one reason for their decline. Many other factors play a roll as well but habitat destruction is the one that can be solved quickly and help get them back on their feet or wings actually.
So if you have a lot of land let some of it go back to nature and instead of planting all those store bought flowers try putting out native wildflowers. Especially milkweed not only will you be helping out the Monarchs but many other butterflies and bee’s will be helped as well.
It’s not too often that you can just walk out the door after work and be surrounded by a virtual butterfly paradise. But that’s what it’s like where I work here in Madison Indiana.
King’s Daughters’ Health is a private, not-for-profit organization, King’s Daughters’ Health is focused on delivering exceptional health services to families throughout southeast Indiana and portions of northern Kentucky. The main campus, including King’s Daughters’ Hospital, is located at 1373 E. State Road 62 in Madison, Indiana.
It is a large campus that has one of the finest stands of Common and Purple Milkweed that I have ever come across. Butterfly Milkweed, Joe-pye weed, iron-weed, blue mist, and golden rod also grace the hospital grounds. The color palette alone is almost beautiful enough but the real prize is the incredible variety of butterflies that make the prairie like fields their home.
I have witnessed or photographed at least 24 different species of butterflies in these fields and I believe even more may be escaping me as well. So as you can see I have a pretty neat place to explore after a hard day at work !!
Bernie Kasper Photography 