Tag: Monarchs

Comings And Goings; Bird Peepers, Sparks, Talking With Nature, Tails/Tales.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz29 Comments

The Coach left me Friday morning until late thirty Saturday. I’m counting down the days until my Softball Widow Title can be rested. The season is almost over and don’t ask me why he’s not exhausted, but I am.

Anyhoo, much like my childhood where I found myself alone, I am never bored. I can easily entertain myself with the most mundane of things.

Such as this male cardinal looking INTO the window the other morning while his wife/mother/side piece was taking a bath right behind him. I imaged he was inquiring if there was any shampoo available for his girl.

  • Pardon me, do you have any Pantene available?

Honestly, it doesn’t matter how many times I see a bird in the bath, I will become instantly happy and proud that they chose MY bath out of all the baths in the ‘hood.

I had a typical conversation with these two regarding how wonderful they are and how much I love them. I’ll call this photo Before & After.

I went on a cleaning tear Friday evening; vacuuming, mopping, dusting. I mean, it’s Friday night, lets PARTY clean!

I topped off the night with the epiphany that I’d already Sparked Joy in my closet a few years ago, so why didn’t I do it with my linens? Marie Kondo would have kicked me out of the club had she known, so I worked on the guest bathroom drawers and the kitchen towel drawer.

Don’t hate me because I get high on organizing. But you should probably suggest a meeting…

The dogs and I started the new season of The Handmaids Tale. None of us can count how many times June has fled or almost fled Gilead, only to be yanked back in. *sigh* I’m sure it’s hard for June, but it’s also exhausting for ME.

Look at them, almost tail to tail; they’re coming around. Well, Max is coming around, Lillie already wanted to jump his bones. The adoption agency failed to tell me that she was a Hussy.

That’s all the excitement I will can legally share with you on this delightful Monday.

Was anyone else lucky enough to Marie Kondo their home or experience a cute peeping Tom?

XOXO

Literal Butterfly Kisses and I’m Creating More Than Food In My Kitchen; Spoiler Alert, It’s Not Edible.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz32 Comments

One day this past week, I was releasing some monarchs, and one of them decided to come in for a closeup. I was all, “Oh, ok. Make yourself at home”. I was impressed with myself that I had my phone in my pocket as she sat there gazing into my soul.

Why did I convert this to black and white? I was in a hideous state when this occurred. I’d been working the yard, flush from the heat; honestly, my hair hadn’t been touched by a comb or brush. Or, as my Dad would lovingly say, “You look like you brushed your hair with the leg of a chair.” 

Speaking of butterflies and weirdness. This is the cool thing I wanted you to witness

The monarch caterpillars LOVE to make their chrysalis on the edges of milkweed pots. Had you heard? They’re famous for this. BUT, this was an anomaly; two of them using the same exact spot for their silk. I wondered how this was going to work out with them being ALL UP IN EACH OTHERS BINESS. 

They always create this “J” formation for a good part of a day before going into the chrysalis state. J as in J’AMAZING. 

I could tell that they were going to create their chrysalis around the same time, and I didn’t want to miss it so I brought them into the kitchen. Which, by the way, they said Holy mackerel, nice digs, lady! Even caterpillars know a good kitchen design when they see it. 

Do you want to see something cool? 

HOLD ON TO YOUR SOCKS. 

Are you wearing socks? No. Then what the heck are you holding on to? 

I recorded it in time-lapse because I care about time. And lapses of judgment time. The guy on the right was SO annoyed with the guy on the left; he kept bumping into him with all his life-changing. Life-changing CAN be messy and wiggly. 

By the way, that’s the guy on the left’s skin that I picked up. Cool right? They shed their outer layer. Talk about exfoliation. 

For real, I’ve been at this butterfly thing for many years, and I have two observations: 

  • It is still amazing to watch
  • I still don’t fully understand how it all works. 

Oh, and guy number two made his chrysalis about 30 minutes later while I was in the shower. I should have taken them to the shower with me so I wouldn’t miss it. They might have been equally impressed with our bathroom but also traumatized from seeing me nekkid. I can hear them now: What in the world happened to her chrysalis? Body shamed by a caterpillar; that’s a new low.

Can I top this with anything cooler for next week? Well, there are rumors in the ‘hood that Sasquatch has been spotted riding a unicorn; I’d better check the surveillance cameras.

Until next time.

XO

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

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz, In the land of butterflies26 Comments

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