Here Comes the Scarecrows!

POSTSCRIPT: Winner!!!

Congrats to Michele Smith and her crew, awarded 2nd Place in the category of

BEST HOMETOWN. Well done!

Last year, the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway "Polly Nator" scarecrow entry took the prize of "Most Whimsical." It was a bonus on top of what was such a fun group process. So as soon as we heard the announcement for this year's "Here Comes the Scarecrows 2022! our group was on it.

How it came to be: An idea. We kicked around a few, and choose to do a big Monarch butterfly (the icon for the Pollinator Pathway) and embellish with a Monarch caterpillar and beneficial insects.

Who knew this would be so involved. Michele Smith and Richard Miller took on the job of figuring out how to design the core structure to hold the body of the Monarch. They played with the dimensions and then decided on PVC to create the skeleton.

Several trips ensued to the fabric store for fabric dye (who knew it would be so hard to dye curtains), ribbons, paint and duct tape (you can do anything with duct tape).

A trip to the hardware store for one of our members, took her to the aisle of lost shoppers in one of the big box stores. Fortunately, she was found days later in the lumber aisle with a PVC downspout (who puts downspouts in the 2x4 aisle)?

The downspout was spray painted with a yellow-green base, beginning his transformation. Michele would later paints dozens of yellow and white lines and then add embellishments to make Caterina.

Michele then painted and duct taped a fantabulous Monarch. The group assembled the parts, painted insect pumpkins, and added additional adornments and finishing touches.

We hope our creation brings a smile to your face & we also hope it makes you interested to learn about the mission of the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway:

We are part of the larger grassroots movement to respond to the critical need to help pollinators. Devastating global declines in insect populations, including monarch butterflies, is the result of pesticide use, lack of native plants, light pollution, and the loss of habitat. No only have we lost pollinators and insects, but it affects the whole food web, including birds who need insects and caterpillars to feed their nestlings.

Do what you can to be eco-friendly:

Plant native plants and trees to restore the balance

Do not use pesticides

Shrink the lawn (turf grass is not beneficial to any living thing)

Leave some part(s) of your yard wild

Leave the leaves. They are nutrients for next year's plants & act as cover/habitat for fireflies, bumblebees and other pollinators.

Give up leaf blowers, as they ruin the soil, kill overwintering pollinators, pollute the air and have harmful noise levels