monarch butterfly

Day of Discovery

July 18, 2019 at 10:09 am by Claudia

Despite being so humid yesterday that I could barely think, I did have some outdoor chores to attend to; watering, whiteflies, that sort of thing. Along the way, I met up with some wonderful surprises. I call it: Claudia’s Day of Discovery.

First up.

My constant check of the milkweed for whiteflies paid off, not only in getting rid of some them, but in this discovery:

A future monarch butterfly. And yes, those are eggs on the leaf, but they don’t look like whitefly eggs which are laid in a circular pattern and, sad to say, I’m now more than familiar with. Maybe Monarch eggs? Not sure. Have to do some more research. I also saw a smaller caterpillar on another leaf, but when I came back to take a picture, I couldn’t find it.

Then, as I started to walk back, I noticed some stray bits of nest making material on the clematis, which is held up by a metal trellis. I looked closer. Down under the top leaves, was a little nest. I had to pry back some of the leaves to take a photo and it isn’t all that clear, but here you go:

At first I though they might be wren eggs, but they tend to be buff colored with brown specks. These are blue, so I think they might be the eggs of a song sparrow. Very tiny eggs. I don’t know where mama was or – I hate to think it – if the eggs have been abandoned. I didn’t want to linger there in case I was being watched by anxious parents. I’ll try to casually walk by today and see if I see some bird activity.

Heading back to the kitchen door, I realized that I kept seeing a black butterfly. I was sure it was an Eastern black swallowtail, but, as I got closer, I realized it didn’t have the extension on the bottom of the wings that swallowtails have.

Anyway, this butterfly could fly and she did, but she kept landing on the pavement and staying there, while she pumped her wings over and over. This went on for quite a while, right outside the door. A bit of flight, then a landing, then pumping. I suspected it was a newly emerged butterfly. I took some pictures and did some research. It’s a Red Spotted Purple Admiral. They look brown here, but the wings have two spots near the top that are red.

Soon, another Red Spotted Purple Admiral joined her and they both pumped their wings. It was utterly fascinating. When Don came home, I headed him off at the pass and told him to come in the front door, so as not to disturb them.

I took this short snippet of video. It’s also on my IG account.

Isn’t it amazing?

Then, this morning, Henry and a bunny rabbit were happily coexisting as they chomped on the grass.

Oh, and Lonesome Dove was on the birdbath the other day, taking delicate sips of water.

All my critter needs have been met for the week.

I was about to commit to reading another author yesterday as I didn’t get any notice from the library that a Kate Atkinson was ready and waiting for me, when, at 4 pm, one came through. Normally, that would have been too late, but on Wednesdays, the library is open until 8, so I hightailed it over there – I use that word loosely as my back is acting up, so I can’t ‘hightail’ it anywhere – and brought it home with me. It’s the very first Jackson Brodie mystery she wrote – Case Histories. While I was there, I spotted the newest Chris Pavone thriller on the ‘New Fiction’ shelf, so that came home with me, too.

It stormed yesterday and it’s going to rain today. Saturday? 98 degrees. Sunday? 94 degrees. Heat indexes of 107 degrees plus. The local weather guy was saying we should all stay indoors, and we will, but plants will have to be watered, which necessitates going outside. Yuck.

Happy Thursday.

Monarch

July 12, 2019 at 10:50 am by Claudia

I briefly contemplated taking the day off from posting, but then, as Don and I were sitting on the porch talking, we saw this:

Our first monarch! Actually, Don saw it first. Yesterday, I saw an eastern swallowtail, so I initially thought it had come back. But it was a monarch – feeding on the milkweed.

He was moving quickly, so I did the best I could with my iPhone.

We were so excited!

I spent at least three hours shooting water at whiteflies yesterday, after discovering they were everywhere in my garden – even in some of the potted plants – which is incredibly disheartening. I found an insecticidal soap – made by Safer – that is used in organic gardens (I happened to have it in my cupboard) and is meant for aphids and whiteflies. I’m planning to use it on some of the problem areas, but not everywhere. One of my fears with this kind of thing is that I’ll also kill beneficial insects and I hate doing that. I’ll definitely not use it on the milkweed, but will continue to spray water on the infestations, because I don’t want to kill the beginnings of a monarch. I’m going to do some more research in the meantime. I don’t want to see all my plants destroyed by these dang whiteflies. So I have to figure out how to eliminate them without huring other bugs and/or my plants.

Any thoughts?

Meanwhile, while I was standing near the side of the porch, I saw this:

And this:

The garden beds on the side of the house are exactly what I want: very densely planted, full of cottage garden flowers. Now, if I could get the other beds to do the same thing, I’d be a happy camper.

I think this bed does well because it’s partially shaded. So was the big garden bed until we lost that huge limb on the maple.

Anyway. The water battle with the whiteflies will continue today. It’s tedious. But I’m like a mom protecting her children. Don’t mess with my babies!

Happy Friday.

Butterflies and Photos

August 13, 2018 at 10:28 am by Claudia

I was running around, trying to get a photo of this beautiful monarch who kept flitting from one milkweed plant to another. So sweet.

At the same time, I saw a black swallowtail on the limelight hydrangea, but he was too fast for me.

I had 3 inches chopped off my hair yesterday by my friend, Dawn. She charges $10 for a cut. (Do you believe it?) I always end up tipping her $10 as well because she works long, long hours and deserves it. The cut was overdue as I tend to let my hair grow until it’s out of control – not a good idea when you have baby fine hair. I feel much better. Then, because Don was off taking pictures with his Crown Graphic, I went to the bookstore for the first time in a while and bought some magazines and a few books.

It’s been rainy for a few days now and today is no different. I’m over it.

Don has been getting some great pictures. He has learned how to get the kind of picture he wants in cloudy or sunny weather. He’s figured out framing. He’s honed in on his particular style. He has done great work for the past few days and I think he’s ready to start asking for a donation for each picture.

I’ll share a couple with you. What these digital pictures of his photos don’t show you is the luminous quality of the Fuji (Polaroid) film. It glows. It’s gorgeous. The digital camera can’t capture that, but let me tell you, when you’re holding that photo in your hand, it’s unlike anything else.

The film is expensive because it’s hard to manufacture and Polaroid stopped making it several years ago. Don has been investing in it, so he can hoard as much as possible until someone else comes up with an equivalent for Fuji’s version, which is still in stock, but will eventually be phased out.

Love this one.

We’re getting a little reflection from the iPhone lens, but you get the idea.

These are all a little lighter than what you’re seeing, but we were on the porch this morning and it’s raining. You can see more of his work on his IG account and in his stories.

I’ve never seen any film like this film. It’s beautiful.

So proud of his work ethic and what he has achieved in a few short weeks.

Happy Monday.

Day of Discovery

Monarch

Butterflies and Photos

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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