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Showy, Low, Good to Grow

Antelope Horn Milkweed can play a starring role in your butterfly garden.

Antelope Horn Milkweed (Asclepias asperula)

This US Southwest native herbaceous perennial is also known as Green-Flowered Milkweed and Spider Milkweed. It provides nectar for adult butterflies and serves as a host plant for youthful butterflies (including monarchs!) during the awkward, teenage caterpillar phase.

An Unusual, Elegant Accent in Arid Areas

The Antelope Horn Milkweed, named for its long, pointed seedpods that are reminiscent of antelope horns, has some of the most distinctive blossoms of any plant, anywhere. Imagine a golf ball on a tee, as interpreted by a florist. Or perhaps the two-inch spheres will make you think of a funky geodesic dome spacecraft from the planet Sputnik. Dallas denizens will definitely be reminded of Reunion Tower!

The purplish centers of these green and cream-colored blossom balls number as many as twelve per plant, and are beloved by checkerspots, monarchs, and swallowtail butterflies for their plentiful nectar. This milkweed is hardy in the warm, arid USDA zones 5-9, and requires as little as eight inches of moisture per year. It grows to a height of no taller than two feet, and a deep, robust taproot allows it to thrive in full sun and tolerate droughts that would decimate most other plants. Look for it growing wild along roadsides and in dry caliche, loam, sand, and clay soils.

The seedpods that give the plant its name.

A Crucial Aid to Monarch Migration

Early spring is when the Antelope Horn Milkweed begins to bloom. Besides providing nectar for butterfly sipping, the plant serves as a host plant for monarchs, queens, and soldiers–which means the caterpillars of these butterfly species eat the plant’s leaves. As monarchs begin their northbound migration, the Antelope Horn is by most accounts the most popular milkweed chosen for the depositing of eggs. Gardeners who observe the plant in their plots have noted that they seem to always see at least one caterpillar on the Antelope Horn’s leaves!

The plant’s toxins are ingested by butterfly larvae (caterpillars), rendering them unpalatable to and thus protected from predators. These toxins also make the Antelope Horn a “must-avoid” for deer and other snackers.

The tenacious taproot of the Antelope Horn dictates that the most successful cultivation will happen when the young plant is placed in its garden home as soon as possible. Most containers will not be deep enough for this milkweed to thrive.

A Special Message for Texans

The monarchs who begin the spring migration journey northward are the long-lived, months-old “Methuselah” generation of the species’ lifecycle. These are, in many cases, the very same individual butterflies who passed through Texas on the way to their Mexican overwintering sanctuaries.

These particular monarchs are nearing the end of their lives, and their flagging strength dictates that they lay eggs on one of the first available milkweeds. Quite frequently, this will be an Antelope Horn Milkweed in Texas.

How can you help? To begin with, it’s best to not disturb any Antelope Horn Milkweed you may see growing wild. The long taproot makes transplanting unlikely to be successful. Secondly, add a few of these elegant milkweeds to your own garden beds. Texas’ location adjacent to Mexico puts Texans in a unique position of ability to aid our beloved monarch butterflies!

Antelope Horn Milkweed is a monarch’s MVP.

Snake Stanza

There was an old snake down the road;

He ate rats, and occasionally, toads.

A wound to the side!

The old land-eel died.

Should’ve been in skin-saver mode.

Trendy.

image credit Helena Lopes /Pexels

These Trending Options Will Be Your Crowd’s Favorites!

ABC Event Planning is always your go-to for events that are current, parties that are popular, and gatherings that are ‘gramable–Instagramable, that is! Let us share the top four trends for corporate events in 2019.

Tech it up a notch.

Scavenger hunts are an ABC specialty, but the tweak this year is highlighted in the GPScavenger Party–a GPS-enhanced search around downtown Gotham. The ever-popular photo booth is upgrading with boomerang or GIF image files. We don’t need to tell you that finding new ways to share on social media is mega-appealing to many. You can even create a hashtag that boosts your brand awareness.

Well, well, well.

What have we here? It’s a revitalized focus on wellbeing. A healthy team is a happy team, after all. Stretch boundaries with a morning yoga class before the sales meeting. Relax attitudes with an on-site, end-of-quarter chair massage. And why not strengthen muscles and friendships with a fun run? Maybe with a craft beer at the finish line….

Great experience comes with the job (party).

If an activity is unusual, interest amps up! Think escape room, cooking classes, or even axe throwing! The more out of the ordinary, the more shareable on social media–we’re thinking axe throwing videos get the win here. Team cooking challenges are hot–especially bake-offs. Lots of photo ops, lots of sugar, lots of love for a Cupcake Wars-inspired team builder!

Slow down there.

The overscheduled and overtired among us are driving (wearily) the desire for a no-hassle, laidback get-together. Just a chill session at a fun place to eat and drink. A little downtime to hang out and visit. A company-hosted brunch where bottomless bellinis and bocce ball are the order of the day might be just the ticket. And remember–brunch means bacon. Bacon. Mmmmmmm.

Make it easy.

ABC Event Planning can help you design the events your corporate team will love. You don’t have to ditch the tried and true, but why not shake things up a bit and add a new angle to your 2019 fandangle? Contact John Smith (jsmith@ABC.com or 555.555.5555) to get more bang for your buck, and bacon for your brunch.

Attractive idea.

Direct email for ABC Graphics
To current accounts and prospects from Sales Manager/COO
Subject line: If you ask me. . .
Message:
Image credit Pixabay

. . .if you’re going to print business cards, why not print them as magnets? Join me as I channel Captain Obvious and list some benefits:

*Longer lasting. When was the last time you ruined a magnet by tearing or folding it?

*Visibility. Your magnet may not get stuck to the side of a desk, door jamb, or refrigerator, but the odds are astronomically higher than the possibility of a paper business card being taped to any surface at all. Everyone knows the desktop rolodex has cemented a place on the level red endangered list.

*Conversation extender. The magnet can buy you a little more conversation time. An opportunity to impress a business prospect with your forward-thinking wisdom and outside-the-box brain power. No reason why the same wouldn’t hold true for a romantic prospect. . . . Just a thought.

At ABC, our space-age digital and silk screening printing capabilities mean we can create the high-quality business magnets you need to set you apart from the paper-card crowd. And for lots less than you think. Call me at 555.555.5555 to discuss how ABC can deliver a better product than anything else you can get at an online outfit run by robotic elves. Or call me for romantic prospect advice. (Can you even say the words “pick up line” anymore??)

Boxing.

Direct email for ABC Graphics
To current accounts and prospects from Sales Manager/COO
Subject line: If you ask me. . . 
Message:
Image credit bruce mars at Pexel

. . . why not print at least your company logo on your shipping packaging?

An old, old-school Metroplex business genius liked to call a shipping box “four advertising panels that encase a product.” It’s some of the least expensive advertising you’ll do–no airtime, column widths, or speciality product to buy. Shipping packaging is an expense you already have, and printing costs are insanely affordable. (Especially insanely affordable at ABC Graphics, of course.)

Start with just your logo. Or even just your business name, in any font you’d like. I guarantee you’ll discover it’s worth the ink. And once you’re convinced this opportunity is too good to waste, call John (555.555.5555) or Jane (555.555.5555) here at ABC for some art that can easily elevate your shipping boxes, envelopes, or plastic sleeves into sales drivers.

Most liquor distilleries got this message long ago. Ever used an old vodka corrugated for a moving/storage box? I rest my case. (See what I did there?)

Call me at 555.555.5555 anytime to discuss how we can use your fixed operation expenses to drive sales. Or for the joke of the day, either one.

To film or not to film?

Direct email for ABC Graphics
To current accounts and prospects from Sales Manager/COO
Subject line: If you ask me. . . 
Message:
image credit rawpixel.com

. . .why chem film AND paint or powder coat on the same piece?

In almost every case, painting or powder coating the entire component will be significantly cheaper and provide the same amount of protection.

Pause for term clarification:

*Chem filming is a coating process that prevents oxidation and corrosion, usually on aluminum. It’s a more finished look than galvanizing. It provides the thinnest protection–product dimensions remain unchanged. If this is what you require, ABC has been chem filming for years and will continue to do so.

*Painting is the next thinnest coating. High quality paint (and that’s the only kind we use at ABC) will also prevent rust and corrosion up to a heat of 350 to 400˚F. Many moons ago, when calculators were a “gee whiz” item, computer components could get hot enough to melt paint; but in this day of smartphones and fitbits, this is no longer true.

*Powder coating is the thickest coating. A truly environmentally-friendly process, it emits no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). An electrical charge holds paint powder on the metal to be coated. The coated piece is then moved to the oven where it bakes until done. And here, I point out that ABC has one of the biggest ovens in the DFW area. Hey–it’s not bragging if it’s true, right??

Bottom line: if you’re already painting or powder coating, you can save a percentage worth talking about by not chem filming also.

Call me (555.555.5555) or John (555.555.5555) anytime to discuss. . .or to make a lunch date. We like lunch dates.

There goes Tokyo.

image credit Mikes Photos

Sonicare gives you movie star teeth. Without the monster price tag.

Begin brushing with Sonicare, and by day three, you can flash a set of choppers that gleam with measurably fewer stains. 62,000 brush movements per minute remove ten times more plaque than the old black and white manual toothbrush.

Sonicare toothbrushes start at under $40–isn’t that about the price of a date to the movies?

Sonicare. You do the biting, we’ll do the cleaning.

A modest proposal.

I want to marry you.

Tell me when and where, and what to wear. 

Pick a time and I’ll be there. 

Relaxed ceremony or formally regal–

My signature’s what makes it legal. 

Pastor Charles B. Duke

pastorcbduke@yahoo.com

817.821.6476

I do “I do’s.”

Catch me if you can.

__Will I drop my phone?

__How many times will I drop my phone–today?

The Kyocera Brigadier achieves Military Standard 810G protection against shock and vibration. Also meets the same military specs for defense against dust, water, temperature extremes, and solar radiation. Super heroes, your phone is calling. 

Kyocera Brigadier. No case needed.