The One Where I {should} Finally Get A Network TV Show

Tuesday evening I was in the backyard with the pups and they were doing what pups do and I was doing what I do; checking out my plants, caterpillars and having gentle conversations with butterflies passing me by. (I feel the need to tell each one how beautiful they are; I can’t help it) I noticed an old, withered monarch sitting in the grass. They don’t usually hang out in the grass, so I picked her up and put her on a salvia bloom safely out of Lillies mouth reach. I immediately recognized her as I’ve seen her flitting about my various garden areas over the past few days; she was recognizable by her one partial and almost see-through wings. She has seen some days and lots of weather. Monarchs here generally live 2-6 weeks and I’d say she’s seen close to six weeks from the looks of her.

I decided she might need a little help in the food department and who can turn down a juicy tangerine? No one, that’s who.

You can see her proboscis reaching out for nectar; this is the little tube they ingest their food from. I squeezed the tangerine to make more juice for her; this is the equivalent of a bartender filling up my wine glass. MORE, please.

Honestly, we don’t hear that many planes over our house so I can only assume that was the Discovery Channel or Nat Geo coming in close for a story.

*Still waiting for them to make an offer I can’t refuse contact*

I saw her a few times on Wednesday as well; still flying, eating, acting as she should.

On Thursday morning we found her again in the grass and moved her onto a plant for some nutrients. She’s missing a bit more of her wing but seems to be in good spirits. I mean, if she was in bad spirits she was disguising it. One thing I’ve noticed over the last few days was that the males were still coming in hot for her. Just goes to show you, Cougars also have a commodity in nature.

Meow.

I’ve thought about bringing her in and placing her in a mesh cage to keep her safe and happily fed, but decided she was meant to be out there, doing her thing for the rest of her days.

I do have one monarch that I’ve had in captivity for almost 3 weeks. Don’t get all crazy and call PETA this one has a virus (using layman terms here) that is very contagious to all the caterpillars/plants/butterflies in the gardens, so it was either keep her away from the others or go all Jack Kevorkian (freezer) on her.

Suz: making life & death decisions on the daily.

Happy Friday my sweet friends. Wishing you all a peaceful (easy feeling) weekend doing something that doesn’t require life & death decisions, but if you have to: CHOOSE LIFE.

Now leave a note or I’ll put you in the freezer with the others.

XOXO

26 thoughts on “The One Where I {should} Finally Get A Network TV Show”

  1. You were just what she needed at that point. Bless her heart; that tangerine saved her in the nick of time.

    There are days when I know JUST HOW SHE FEELS. (But I need a helluva lot more than tangerine juice. I know you feel me.)

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  2. Thank you for laymen terms. So funny. This video is beautiful. My favorite part is when you pan across the yard and Lillie is in the background looking all curious: WHY MAMA GIVING THAT CREATURE A TANGERINE? I NEVER GOT A TANGERINE, HAND SQUEEZED TO MAKE IT EASY FOR ME TO LICK THE SWEET NECTAR FROM HER FINGERS. HUMPH.

    You could have a nature show with all that knowledge of butterfly viruses and lifespans.

    At the gate waiting to board the plane for Arizona. Woot woot!!! Hoping our offspring behave. Have a good weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lillie really wanted to catch the butterfly herself and I don’t think she wanted to give it some nutrients.
      I hope all went well in AZ and at your house!

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  4. What a wonderful capture of the little bit left of the life of this butterfly! I especially liked the video of you feeding her the tangerine juice. Since the males are coming for her, I suppose she still has a job to do, i.e. lay eggs before dying?

    Deb

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  6. I wasn’t expecting a science lesson this morning, but I enjoyed learning. Do their wings begin to disintegrate with age or do you think it was damaged some how?

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    1. Their wings get thinner as time goes on. I think the missing chunk of the wing could be weather age-related or a lizard/bird might have taken a nibble while trying to eat the butterfly.

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  7. Thank you! I needed this video. Heck, I needed this whole post! That beautiful butterfly is so calm & trusting while you feed her. Warms my heart & dropped my cortisol levels a bazillion points. So amazing you can do this! You have a gift (and the butterflies know it).

    Your Salvia continues to amaze me. I am stunned by how gorgeous it is and in winter for goodness sake! Nature is just starting to wake up where I live. Hellebores and Arum reign. But the birds are going nuts so I’m hoping Spring is around the corner.

    Till them I’m watching your butterfly and Salvia video on repeat to remind me of warm days and kind people who give elderly (or even ill) Monarchs a soft easy place. Thx for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed this as much as you did.
      My salvia is kind of a mess, a lot of it is laying down underneath and when I try to trim/clean it up I end up losing beautiful blooms so I’m just gonna let it be for now because the bees are having a wicked good time in them. 🙂

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  10. That video was pretty cool! I’m sure if the people in the plane that went over head knew what you were doing they would have swooped down for a better look! So how did you know your captive butterfly has a virus?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. There is a virus that runs rampant in Florida with monarchs. It has a very long name but is referenced as OE for short. The butterflies that are afflicted with them usually start out very weak with undeveloped wings, that is if they can even get out of their chrysalis. I can tell if one has it by their lack of flying and the coloring of their under-belly. I have to separate them because if they move around the gardens they leave traces of their ‘virus’ on everything and it continues to spread on the plants and caterpillars.

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  11. HOLY JESUS. I just now saw this. YOU ARE A BUTTERFLY WHISPERER.
    That was such an amazing thing to watch, my friend. I want to share that on my blog. Only, I need to figure out how. If I can figure out how, would you mind?

    I love everything about this.

    Liked by 1 person

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