Article Author:
Associated Press
Jay Reeves
Rosalynn Carter, the second-oldest US first lady in history, turns 95 on Thursday. But with butterflies.
The wife of former President Jimmy Carter, 97, has been fascinated by her butterflies since she was a child. She was fascinated by the colorful insects flying around her mother's flowers in Plains, Georgia. Her longtime friend and neighbor Annette Wise. she said.
That interest led to the formation of Rosaline Carter Her Butterfly Her Trail. The Rosalyn Carter Butterfly Trail was established in a town in southwestern Georgia. This is after the former First Lady became concerned about the future of butterflies, which are essential for pollinating flowering plants.
"She read an article about her monarch's decline in 2013 and decided she wanted to do something about it," Wise said.
Wise helped Carter establish a garden featuring native milkweed, a prime habitat for monarch butterflies, in the house she shares with her husband of 76 years, the former president. He said he helped, but the general public cannot visit there. of security concerns for the Secret Service. So Wise was able to plant another garden nearby and open it up to visitors. It helped lead to the Butterfly Trail, which includes her 76 public and private gardens in the plains countryside.
The Butterfly Trail will use Carter's birthday to set the annual statewide butterfly count, the Georgia Major Pollinator Census, on Fridays and Saturdays, Wise said. .
Last Saturday, at an event held to mark the former first lady's birthday, Rosalyn and Jimmy Her Carter, for the dedication of a new butterfly sculpture, It's been a long time since I went out in public. It's part of a trail and on the property next door to where she grew up. The former first lady used a walker to switch it on and light up the artwork at night.
"They don't go out much. COVID is a real concern, and so is their age," Wise said.
By The National First Ladies Library And Beth Truman, wife of President Harry Truman, is the only First Lady to live longer than Rosalyn Carter. Truman, who she was First Lady from 1943 until she was 1953, died in 1982 at the age of 97.
Jimmy Carter, who turns 98 on October 1, is the oldest living former US president. A photograph shows him sitting in his wheelchair and smiling during the dedication of his sculpture.