Newspaper Page Text
October 29, 2014
FAGE4E ^Reporter
Monroe County Outdoors
Bring fall hummingbirds & butterflies your way
This long-tailed skipper feeding at Miss
Huff Lantana blossoms is an example of
the autumn butterfies to be viewed in
Monroe County. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
flowers it will produce.
Miss Huff bears a profu
sion of orange and yellow
blossoms that are verita
ble butterfly magnets.
Currently it is attracting
more butterflies than any
other plant growing on
our property. It is also a
favorite of the ruby-
throated hummingbird.
During the past few
weeks the rubythroats
flying about our backyard
have been spending most
of their time flying from
feeders to Miss Huff lan
tana and Turk's cap.
Butterfly Bush
(Buddleia) - We have a
number of different vari
eties of butterfly bushes
growing on our land.
However, throughout the
late fall the variety that
seems to produce the
most flowers is black
knight. This buddleia pro
duces dark purple blooms.
Although humming
birds do visit butterfly
bushes in fall, they are
used far more often by
butterflies. Throughout
the fall both American
and painted ladies, fiery
skippers, and gulf fritil-
laries are among the but
terflies we see frequent
ing the perennial shrub's
tiny flowers.
Mexican Sage - This
compact shrub-like plant
is most often grown as a
annual in this
neck of the
woods. However,
for the past cou
ple of years we
have been able
to overwinter it
by covering it
with a small
wading pool.
From spring
through fall, the
shrub produces
an abundance of
small lavender
flowers which
are a favorite of
the cabbage
white and other
butterflies.
Pineapple
Sage - Locally
this perennial
salvia doesn't begin
blooming until late sum
mer. When in bloom the
scarlet flowers remind me
of red banners hung on
two to three-foot stalks.
The plant derives its
name from the fact that if
your crush the leaves
they will emit a fruity,
pineapple scent.
Pineapple sage is a
favorite of cloudless sul
phur butterflies and hum
mingbirds alike. Since it
blooms so late in the year,
most of our resident ruby-
throated hummingbirds
never get to dip their bills
into the plant's bright red
blossoms. However, it can
be an important source of
energy for late migrating
hummingbirds. In addi
tion, I have found pineap
ple sage growing near
many of the homes that
host rare overwintering
rufous hummingbirds.
Ageratum - The agera-
tum is one of our most
colorful fall flowers. From
late summer until Jack
Frost arrives, it bears a
riot of clusters of frilly
blue flowers that are
favorite dining spots for
fall butterflies. Stands of
ageratum can be found
growing both in Monroe
County backyards as well
as across the countryside.
Once a common road
side flower, many
stands have been lost
to herbiciding road
shoulders. Once
established, ageratum
quickly spreads. With
that in mind, agera
tum should be plant
ed only in spots
where it will not over
take other flowers.
If you are interested
in attracting late sea
son hummingbirds
and butterflies to
your yard, you might
want to give some or
all of these six plants
a try. If you are
attracting butterflies
and hummingbirds to
other plants in your
backyard from mid to late
fall, I hope you will let me
know what they are. I am
always looking for plants
that beautify my yard
and attract a bevy of
hummingbirds, butter
flies and other nectar
feeders.
Terry Johnson is the
retired Program Manager
of the Georgia Nongame-
Endangered Wildlife
Program. He conducts
wildlife research and sur
vey projects, presents pro
grams and writes about
wildlife. Email him at
TJWoodDuck@ aol.com.
BY TERRY W. JOHN
SON
F or the past sev
eral weeks, the
number of hum
mingbirds and
butter
flies visiting our
backyards has been
dramatically de
creasing. This is
something that
happens every fall.
A few years ago,
my wife and I
decided that we
would try to do
something to
attract as many of
these beautiful
aerial flowers to
our yard as we
could during this special
time of the year. With
that in mind, we began
planting nectar plants
that bloom well into
autumn.
Our efforts have been
rewarded. We are seeing
a few ruby-throated hum
mingbirds later in fall
than we ever have before.
In addition, although we
aren't finding as many
species of butterflies as
we did a month or so ago,
we are still enjoying spot
ting six to 10 species
almost every day. Among
the late season butterflies
that visit our flowers are
the cloudless sulphur,
sleepy orange, cabbage
white, fiery skipper, ocola,
clouded skipper, long
tailed skipper, monarch
and gulf fritillary.
Here is a list of six
plants that have helped
us extend
our hum
mingbird
and but
terfly
viewing
season:
Turk's
Cap - This
shrubby
perennial
blooms
from sum
mer
through
fall. It is a
favorite hummingbird
nectar plant. However, in
the fall its bright red
flowers also attract
swarms of lemony yellow
cloudless sulphur butter
flies. This hardy plant
does well in full sun and
tolerates dry soils.
Miss Huff Lantana -
There are a number of
lantana available to
homeowners. However,
this is the one that we
have found most hardy.
It will survive winter
temperatures as low as 3
degrees Fahrenheit and
does well in dry condi
tions. In fact, watering
the plant regularly will
reduce the number of
The MP offense converted
two fourth-down tries on its
ensuing 55-yard drive, which
continued from page IB was , ca PP ed b > r a four-yard
touchdown run by Jaquavious
Sims. Sims took a shotgun
handoff from quarterback Caleb Speir and ran left behind his
offensive line before colliding with a Jackson defender at the
goal line but stretching across for the score. An extra point by
Alex Rivera gave MP an early 7-0 lead with 2:13 left in the first
quarter.
On Jackson's next possession, Dozier and teammate Dre
Evans teamed up for a key third-down sack, setting up 4th-
and-9 at Jackson's own 46-yard-line on the first play of the sec
ond quarter. After the break, the Red Devils lined up to go for
it, and the running back took a wildcat formation snap, but was
stuffed in the backfield by MP’s James Warren for a loss of
eight yards.
Moments later, Speir hooked up with receiver Jamari Jackson
down the left side of the field for a 35-yard touchdown with 7:12
left in the second quarter. Rivera's extra point put MP up 14-0.
Then, with just 1:30 left in the first half, MP's Zach Harvey
put MP up three scores with a four-yard touchdown run that
capped a long drive. Rivera's third extra point gave MP a 21-0
halftime lead.
MP JV head coach Matt Gordon said it's a luxury to have run
ning backs like Jaquavious Sims, Jatori Sims and Harvey to
hand the ball to in key situations.
"They stay relatively fresh, but all of them have a different
strength," Gordon said. "Jaquez (Jaquavious Sims) is pretty
powerful in between the tackles, and Jatori is just elusive by
himself. And Harvey is a little bit of both put together. So you
get all those guys together and you put them in there and let
them run to daylight. It's pretty easy to coach them. Just let
them go do what they do naturally."
MP thought it might be up four scores at the half, but an 85-
yard interception return for a touchdown by Elijah Hawkins on
the final play of the first half was nullified by a block-in-the-
back penalty.
The Bulldogs got the ball first to start the second half, and
Speir threw a pass out in the flat for Kendrell Taylor. The run
ning back did the rest, taking the ball about 50 yards down to
Jackson's 11-yard-line. A few plays later, Rivera booted through
a 31-yard field goal to put MP up 24-0 with 7:28 left in the
third quarter.
MP's defense faced its first stiff test of the game on Jackson's
next series, but the Bulldogs responded. MP stuffed Jackson on
fourth-and-goal from the MP one-yard-line to reclaim posses
sion. However, MP's next series was short-lived, as Speir was
tackled in the end zone for a safety.
MP essentially made the fourth quarter a mere formality
when Bruce McCall returned an interception 60 yards down
the MP sideline for yet another Bulldogs' score on the final play
of the third quarter. Another Rivera extra point gave the
Bulldogs a 31-2 edge.
MP then scored one final time with 1:01 left in the game
when seldom-used running back Da'Kendre Alford ran for a
one-yard touchdown much to the delight of his excited team
mates. An extra point by Rivera provided the final 38-2 margin.
Gordon said he was thrilled Alford had a chance to get in the
end zone.
"He's a young guy that doesn't have a lot of experience,"
Gordon said of Alford. "These kids go through so much as a JV
player as far as being a scout offensive player. They get beat up
a little bit during the week, and the kid doesn't say anything.
He's here all the time. He works hard. And to see him be able
to score a touchdown is pretty cool. That's why we coach. That's
why I do this because I can watch a kid do something like that
that he probably wouldn't have been able to earlier in his life."
Gordon, who captured his first championship as a head coach,
said he hopes this year's JV success will lead to more good
things at the varsity level in the future.
"It feels good," Gordon said. "We just want to make sure they
keep things in perspective and realize that this is a feeder pro
gram to build up for next year. But if this is an indicator of
where we're going to be in a year or two varsity-wise, I'm very
excited about it. But it's fun to coach them."
Gordon said he and the rest of the JV staff enjoyed coaching
this year's team because of how much effort the players gave all
year.
"Just all those guys, however many we had, they're all just
good kids that are good players, hard players," he said. "We
may not have a five-star recruit in there anywhere, but we've
got a bunch of kids that just work hard. And I'm proud to say I
coached them."
Wicks
bags
first
deer
Wade Wicks, the son
of Adam and Heather
Wicks killed his first
ever deer in Crawford
County on Oct. 11.
(Photo/Heather
Wicks)
Preview
continued from page IB
Night on Friday, Nov. 7 in what could turn out
to be a de-facto region championship contest if
both squads win this Friday.
The Braves have had an up-and-down year in
Hannah's first season at the helm but are cur
rently on a hot streak. Baldwin, 5-3 overall (3-1
in Region 2-AAAA) has won its last three
games, all over Region 2-AAAA opponents,
including a 17-3 victory at Perry last Friday
night. Perhaps the Braves' most impressive con
quest of the season thus far was its 20-12
victory over West Laurens one week earli
er on Oct. 17 that gave the Raiders their
only region loss.
Baldwin's quarterback for the past two
seasons, Tahjea Chambers, transferred to
Tift County during in the off-season, and
Felix Jones has stepped in to take snaps
in his place. Jones is joined in the back-
field by one of the top players in the region
in senior running back Kentavious
Thomas. Thomas, who has verbally com
mitted to top-ranked Mississippi State,
rushed for 131 yards on 20 carries. As
usual, the Braves also feature an athletic
defense that has held its last five oppo
nents to 19 points or less.
Like the Braves, the Bulldogs enter
Friday night's showdown on a hot streak.
MP has won its last six games since get
ting hammered 31-0 by top-ranked
Washington County in Week 2. The
Bulldogs have only allowed one offensive
touchdown and 13 points total in their
past five games combined. Led by out
standing senior tailback Dee High, who
rushed for 200 yards and a career-high
four touchdowns in a 31-0 win over
Veterans last Friday, the Bulldogs' offense
has also hit its stride. MP has scored at
least 31 points in each of its four region
games, and quarterback Jake Johnston
has passed for at least 135 yards in three
of the past four games.
For the season, High has rushed for
1,019 yards and 13 touchdowns on 169
carries, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for
the second straight year in the win over
Veterans. Johnston has completed 62 per
cent of his passes for 970 yards and 11
touchdowns. The junior has only thrown
three interceptions and has not thrown a
pick since the second game of the season.
Johnston's top target in 2014 has been
senior receiver Malik Bledsoe. Bledsoe has
caught 29 passes for 418 yards and nine touch
downs, leading the team in all three categories.
The Bulldogs and Braves have met eight times
previously with MP winning the past two meet
ings. The Bulldogs beat Baldwin 21-7 in
Milledgevifle in 2013. High, who was suspended
for the first half of last year's game, rushed for
84 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in the
second half to lead the win. Thomas paced the
Baldwin offensive attack with 97 yards on 15
carries. Unfortunately for MP, last year's win
over the Braves was best remembered for an
ankle injury to star safety Akebren Ralls in the
final minute of the game that hampered him for
the rest of the season.
13th Annual
Monroe County
Toy Run
7b benefit the C A R, f. Cottage of Monroe County
Novembers, 2014 - Sign-in 10 AM
Ride will be^in ill 11:00 AM from
The Monroe Co. Moose Lodge
524 Cabtthiss Fuad
For$yth, Georgia
From Atlanta: 1-75 South, Exit 1S7
Turn left and follow signs
From Macon: I-75 North, Exit 187
Turn right and follow signs
Everyone Welcome!
After-The-Run Get Together
at the Monroe Co. Moose Lodge
Prize Drawings, Free Food,
Entertainment, Saturday 1:00 PM
BIG MIKE & THE BOOTY PAPAS
Please make your gift or donation at least $1U
Let ! s make this a special Christmas
for all Monroe County Kids!!!!
RIDE SAFE!’!
For more info call 478-957-2853
No calls after 9 PM
tr Ttie organizer of this event is not responsible for any loss
or injury to any person or property