Lindy & Philip Malin:
Still Continuing to "Rescue, RESTORE, and Release" in all parts of our life!
Here's the latest update on our flight through 2022!
Flutterby News!
In Spring of 2021, 427 Families Volunteered to help Restore Monarch Butterfly Habitat Across the U.S.
In late December 2020 a very kind Lancaster Newspaper writer named Ad Crable called us, Malins Monarchy (a husband and wife duo) to make inquiries about the fate of the Monarch Butterflies. We had been trying for months to find common milkweed, asclepias syriaca, seedling plugs.
However, we discovered that common milkweed was extremely hard to find for Spring 2021. Once the pandemic hit, it looked like there was not much hope to find common milkweed locally or on the internet for this spring. We decided to share with Ad Crable our perception that there is hope for the Monarch Butterflies migration. We told him that for it to continue there would have to be a widespread commitment by local folks everywhere planting gardens and fields with milkweed.
Milkweed has been the ONLY plant the monarchs have laid their eggs on for 10 million years. This milkweed has been drastically reduced nationwide due to excessive use of weed killers such as RoundUp. So at the end of the phone interview, Linda finished with a laugh and an offer - “Tell your readers that if they send me a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope), we have common milkweed seeds to share from last year’s garden”.
Ad Crable asked, “What if folks send you envelopes?” We assured him that our little patch that had started from 10 plants would provide a dozen seeds per person. We have had many articles about our monarchs and our efforts to sustain them over the last 25 years, but this article was like the proverbial 2 loaves and 5 fishes.
Mixed in with our Christmas cards, the letters from you began arriving with bright Christmas stamps! We had our first 3 letters in a couple days. Then right after New Year’s there were 32 letters in our mailbox. By the end of the first week of 2021, there were 81 more requests!
By February 14 (celebration of our love affair with each other and Monarchs) we had 400 letters from many folks all over the country asking for our local (unsprayed/unpoisoned) milkweed seeds.
We read each one of your precious notes and letters. We enjoyed your hand-colored pictures and photographs.
On Feb. 27th (2 months after our article was published) we opened each of your SASE and sent off our response. We sent a letter answering many of your questions to all 413 of you gentle folks. We filled little plastic baggies with milkweed seeds and a photo of one of our local seed pods.
We included a small photo card showing how to start the common milkweed. Some of you asked for just 5 seeds to start, while others asked for enough safe seeds for an acre of land!
We smiled at how much you all hoped our little garden would provide common milkweed for folks all over this country. In our letters to you we enclosed our email address, so if you wished to share questions or stories or photos or outcomes, we’d be able to read and be encouraged!
You see, a few months before Christmas I had a full right side stroke. We have now added wheelchair walks down and up the driveway to my 2 ½ hour therapy sessions several times a week. I re-learned to use my right hand to open your letters.
In kindergarten-print I wrote the numbers on your envelopes, and with great limited mobility I counted out the seeds. I took off the fluff and put a dozen or so in each little bag along with the letters my hubby printed out. A loving thanks to my hubby and special thanks for those of you who sent surprise “butterfly bucks” and gifts like extra stamps to share with those who needed! Your stories and notes inspired me to keep bringing letters home and packing up your SASE!
In the midst of the pandemic, families and neighbors will be outside this spring tilling soil and planting zinnia seeds for nectaring butterflies of all species. The pandemic has changed much in this year, but human beings still care for nature in loving ways.
When my hubby came running back to the house to report - “There are no more seed request letters!” I smiled and reminded him we don’t get mail on Sundays …
In the pages of this blog we will share many photos (pictures worth a thousand words) and many details and stories about ovipositors, tarsi, spiracles and palpi! While we have our regular jobs (and my PT therapy), we still share our passion through our educational and entertaining programs and now share our flutterby friendship with our new 427 caring friends!
Sign Language for "Butterfly"!
To Support Our Monarch Butterfly Rescue--Click to Visit Our Little Shop!
All products include FREE SHIPPING!
Check back often for new Monarch updates and products, and answers to your questions. Thanks for visiting--Lindy and Philip.
Picture Perfect Pets
After 30 years as pet photographers in
Lancaster...
Lindy Malin and her husband Philip are continuing their celebration
of our furry and feathered friends in a new way. They were asked to contribute
some of their favorite work to an art show fundraiser at Mulberry Art Studios
and gallery. This is the fourth annual “We Love Our Pets” show to benefit the
Sebastian Foundation. We went through 1,000s of our favorite images of beloved
pets from all over Lancaster County, and selected the ones that really spoke to
us and hopefully will speak to visitors to the gallery.
The show begins on May 6 with an opening reception, and runs till the end of May! Here are the 10 images that Lindy and Philip submitted to the show.
We hope that some of you will go and see all
of the wonderful artwork on display. You must give us feedback on our
submissions as well!
We know many of you have benefited from the love of pets
and also companion animals and so this is our little way of getting back a
little bit this year.
Before the pandemic shut down our pet portrait home visits and pet shop
on-location photo shoots, we always devoted the entire month of November to
animal fundraising. We would do a variety of Charity pet photo shoots and donate
the proceeds to animal Charities all over Lancaster County.
We're so excited to
be part of the fundraising for the love of pets once again!
Cathedral Jewels
Lindy continues to recuperate from the
right side stroke she suffered on September 11th 2019. She decided that in
addition to the weekly physical therapy for her hand and wrist, she would
return to her jewelry making skills. She has been busily cutting, drilling and
polishing glass for her unique Cathedral Jewels creations.
These keepsakes, created from glass rescued
from damaged antique church windows and destined for the landfill, got their start
when Lindy sold 9100 pieces to Fire Mountain Gems catalog, one of the largest jewelry
suppliers in the United States. Since then she has been creating and displaying
her stained glass pieces all over Lancaster County and online. She is
delighted to get back to creating treasures from shattered beauty.
Green Artist & Maker
In addition to her stained glass creations,
Lindy is back hard at work making wearable art out of diverse materials such as
crystals, stones, shells and even recycled computer chips!
We'll post more updates, thoughts and creations here as the journey continues!--L&P
Milkweed has been the ONLY plant the monarchs have laid their eggs on for 10 million years. This milkweed has been drastically reduced nationwide due to excessive use of weed killers such as RoundUp. So at the end of the phone interview, Linda finished with a laugh and an offer - “Tell your readers that if they send me a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope), we have common milkweed seeds to share from last year’s garden”. 
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