Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Yesterday was amazing, exhausting, worrying, and magical – all at the same time. You know we’ve been on chrysalis watch. Well, we went outside around 11 am to sit by the birdbath and watch the chrysalis, which had become a bit cloudy in places, something my friend said would happen before it started to separate. We sat there for a few hours, watching for any changes. One of us would go into the house to take a shower or make lunch, but basically, we were there all day long.

If Don saw a change, he would come get me if I was in the house. Same with me. It was a very breezy/windy day. About 2 pm, Don was on the phone talking to an old friend (he was stationed by the birdbath) and I came outside and immediately checked on the chrysalis. I could see that it had started to separate and part of a wing was emerging. Don immediately hung up, I ran into the house for my phone, which was charging, and I managed to get there right before as the butterfly was tumbling out of the chrysalis. Don was filming. I was filming. It was extraordinary watching the butterfly with small, wrinkled leaves clinging on to the chrysalis. The strong breeze was an ever present problem throughout the afternoon.

Gradually, the wings got a little smoother and the monarch climbed toward the underside of the birdbath. And so began another vigil. Four different times, he fell to the ground and we panicked and I managed to get him back up by using a long twig, which he attached to, then moving the twig to the chrysalis where he would re-attach to the chrysalis. Four times our hearts were in our mouths. I had read that it was crucial to get the butterfly back up to the chrysalis or the wings wouldn’t develop and it wouldn’t be able to fly.

He was weak, of course, having just emerged, and the breeze made things more precarious. We sat on the ground and throughout the next two and a half hours or so, Don or I would cup our hands on either side of the butterfly (far enough away that we didn’t touch him) to protect him from the wind. He hung there, resting, for quite a long time. Eventually, he started to flex his wings, opening them slowly. A bit later he flew down to Don’s jacket, which we had placed on the ground to cushion any more falls. He stayed there a long time. And then, around 4:30, he took his first flight. Wondrous. We had been worried about him, worried that all the falls damaged his wings. But he was okay.

Don was inside and outside, trying to start dinner because it was 6 pm at this point. Because the monarch emerged so late in the day, there wasn’t a lot of sunlight left and he was tired. Eventually, he took one more short flight and landed on a leaf on the ground right by the chickenwire fence garden. I sat there and waited and waited, hoping he’d fly up in a bush or a tree for the night, but he didn’t. He was exhausted. I was communicating with two friends – one raises monarchs – and as it got darker, I became more worried. He seemed too vulnerable on the ground. One friend advised me to put him on my finger, take him to a bush or plant and place him on the underside of a leaf, not too close to the ground.

Don went back outside with me and I picked up the leaf and somehow the monarch climbed onto my finger. (It was the most wonderful sensation.) I walked over to the bush we had chosen and held him near the underside of the leaf and eventually he attached himself to the leaf. Of course, I worried all evening about him, praying for his safety, but Don went out just now and he’s still there, safe.

I think we spent a total of 7 or 8 hours outside taking care of that chrysalis/monarch yesterday. Thank God we were there. We saved his life, not one, but four times. It makes you think about how perilous it can be for any newly emerged butterfly.

Anyway, I’m proud of him and I’m proud of us.

I took two videos and they are on Instagram. One of him emerging, and one of his first flight. Neither were edited because I wanted to get them posted and I was tired so you’ll hear Don say “I have to go pee” at the end of one.

Real life.

We are both exhausted, I’m really congested, we’re both sore from sitting on the hard ground for hours, but oh my, was it worth it! To see it happen when you’re raising them and they’re inside your house is amazing in itself, but to have the opportunity to see it happen ‘in the wild’ is extraordinary.

I kept the chrysalis and it’s on my little Plate of Curiosities.

Don named him Emby, for M.B., Monarch Butterfly.

The bear, the chrysalis, the monarch. It’s been an intense three days here at the cottage and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Nevertheless, it’s time for a bit of rest.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.