Posing as Mother Nature is exhausting

Thank you all for your empathy on my Monday post. I was really sad, down in the dumps, bummed, annoyed, etc…

Lu in TN commented (Thanks Lu!) about having a similar experience and reaching out to butterfly enthusiast groups for advice. Well, wouldn’t you know that I belong to a few different butterfly groups on The Face Book. I posted in my swallowtail group about my dilemma and lots of people had ideas; I love people with ideas.

Many of them were for nurseries too far from me, (I have my limits) but one mentioned a nursery that was only 1 & 1/2 hours. I had tasks that I had to accomplish yesterday, so a 3 hour round trip trek was pushing it, but I looked it up and it was only 25 minutes from my Lolo.

I started thinking….doesn’t that kid owe me something for the undying love I’ve been shelling out for almost 27 years? Didn’t I just purchase a wedding dress for her last week? *giggle giggle*

I texted her to see if she was up for a rescue mission and of course she was on board, I mean love and wedding dress, right?

I called the nursery and they had 6 pipevines, plus all sorts of good monarch butterfly plants that I needed. One, I had always coveted, but never found locally; the elusive Giant Swan Milkweed. AKA: Hairy Balls

She face-timed me when she was there and all the plants looked great. But, they didn’t look so BIG while we were on the phone. I ordered the 6 pipevines, 2 giant milkweed plants and 2 hairy balls. 🙂

She said, are you sure? They’re big. Me: YES!

SO, we met up a while later half way from my house and half way from her house in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. BTW, are we changing the name of that place anytime soon?

It felt like the best drug deal going down in a parking lot that I’ve ever been a part of. “You got my weed?”

Ya’ll, I didn’t have one inch of space left in my fake SUV. (I think of an SUV as a Suburban, Yukon, etc….) It fit tightly in Lolo’s Yukon, but it was a crunch in my fake SUV.

This is just a portion of the weed I picked up in the Caucasian Barrel parking lot. Ignore the exposed wiring in my garage….we have yet another project this week.

I immediately carried one of the pipevines to the grave yard ,scene of the crime area where I still had some starving caterpillars. I then went on a mission and found about 12 more caterpillars wandering. This morning I found two more survivors and put them on the vine.

BTW: last night I dreamt that the vine was eaten entirely overnight.

So, I saved around 15 or so caterpillars out of the 100’s.

Will I even put these vines in the ground? maybe not. I have PTSD. I’m just gonna see how it goes and if the ones the ground can fight their way back before being devoured again.

So, I feel a bit of relief today. For now. *giggle* I exhaust myself….

How is your humpday?

21 thoughts on “Posing as Mother Nature is exhausting”

  2. It makes my heart happy to think one day my offspring might pitch in when I need them too. *Still feels like a long way off*

    Love that this adventure with Lolo partnering with you worked out. So did those hungry caterpillars die? Can they not munch some grass while waiting? Picky kittle buggers.

    I snort laughed while reading this at a stoplight – did not see the “Ask the first man you see . . . hairy balks” nugget coming and Lad was like ‘What’s so funny?”

    Me: mumble, mumble, blog . . .

    I was dropping Reg off to caddy then swinging by Coach’s work so Lad could ‘steal’ Coach’s car as is my new norm. Note to self: remember to pick Coach up when he’s done working.

    Hump day for me, after car stealing, grocery shopping, and then trying to find space for it all. Didn’t I just do this? My version of milkweed stockpiling. Least favorite task. But might squueze in a few hours at the actual pool with Curly before her 2:30 fiddle lesson via facetime.

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    1. They will be there when you need them; right now their brains are still developing. 😉
      I’m sure the ones who wandered off looking for food did die. If not from hunger, but from the lawn guys mower yesterday. 😦

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  6. “It felt like the best drug deal going down in a parking lot that I’ve ever been a part of. “You got my weed?”” I about fell out of my chair laughing!
    Also, the “I exhaust myself.” Pure gold AND I can relate. Sometimes I exhaust myself too.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Omg I wish I could’ve been there when she asked for hairy balls. Or Harry Balls.
    Ahh sophomoric humor for the win.
    Sigh.
    Anyhoo, I’m so glad you got your butterflies taken care of, balls to the wall and weed to spare in the parking lot of El Caucasian Barrel.
    I feel like that could be a novella.
    LET ME WRITE IT.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Re. Cracker Barrel – Didn’t you guys ever watch “The Waltons”? Every General Store had a huge barrel full of soda crackers in the corner – a common fixture in early retail which the restaurant ‘Cracker Barrel’ is known for emulating. In the day, customers would buy a slab of cheese or bologna and grab a handful of crackers – voila: lunch-to-go! This re-naming of everything is getting out of hand.

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  11. We can put your hairy balls with the Christmas decorations my mother once went to a special class to make – Fragrant Balls. Daughters for the win!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I’m so glad you were able to find some plants and save a few of the caterpillars! Your daughter saved the day! Oh and Caucasian Barrel made me spit my water out of my mouth onto my computer keyboard! Ha ha!

    Liked by 1 person

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