Tag: Monarchs

Captains Log: Day 28 or 399? Garden vlog, puzzle upgrade and a plethora of smokers.

Friday morning I did a little garden vlog. Hold onto your seats, it’s riveting.

Excuse the noise; pool equipment, pool fountain, and air conditioner because Florida.

***

We had a nice, quiet and productive weekend.
Saturday we got our first delivery (insta-cart) from Costco; it went well.
The funny thing is they won’t deliver to our house, but they will deliver to our rental condo.
(zip code snobs)
So, I set up the delivery time and we chilled and waited: (our big outing for the weekend) our delivery guy was right on time.

The Coach was watching a fishing show (also riveting) on TV when I said I was ready to go home with our goods.

He said, “what do you need to get home for?”

I replied slightly embarrassed: “I have a new puzzle.”

Good lord. Send help ASAP. 

We got everything on our list aside from

*ONE THING*

Can you guess what we couldn’t get? 

***

Speaking of puzzles, because apparently, I can’t NOT speak of them. The new one that Linds stumbled upon in Target while getting her essentials is THE. BOMB.COM.

The one I had been struggling with for many weeks, and finally finished, well, it turns out it might have been from the bargain bin at Wally World.

The one Linds picked up? Ummmm…it’s top freaking shelf. Like Nordstroms top shelf.
Wait, does top shelf mean liquor? Well, then it’s way better than Albertsons Vodka; that sort of top-shelf.

I didn’t even know there was a hierarchy in the land of puzzles, but I’m here to tell you, there is one.

The pieces feel different; like they’re made from the remnants of a baby bird’s feathers that have been mixed with the recycling goods from the Taj Mahal.

Wait. That sounds kind of gross. WHO AM I? 

I’m just a girl. Standing in front of a puzzle. Hoping it will help me to solve it. 

 

*ahem, almost a quote from Notting Hill which I watched a few weeks ago and It’s one movie Ernie
can quote*

Such a good RomCom.

***

On Sunday I pressure washed the pool lanai and outside furniture while the Coach put together his newest smoker.

Not only is he a Goldilocks with his chairs/office, but he’s also Goldilocks with his smokers.

He has the HUGE tow-behind one that requires a big azz truck and a small smoker/box but needed a medium-sized one too.

{Small and Medium side by side; the new one looks like a time machine. I suppose it IS a time machine for meat.}

He doesn’t complain about my shoes/plants/garden/skincare addictions, so, would I ever complain about his smoker issue? 
Hell.to.the.no.

So, it’s Monday. Let me check my calendar and see what’s happening this week.

Well, it looks like I’m TOTALLY open if anyone wants to get together.

Or not.

Have a good one my people.
XO

I’m certified and I’m finished.

My gardens are officially certified.
And you thought I was just certifiable.

Notice my Monarch model; he approved the signage.

Bona-fide.
Authorized.
To be prized.
I’m rambling here.

I wish I could ditch the electrical boxes and irrigation stuff off the walls, but electricity and irrigation are essential to me.
Also, this is the side of our house, not the front. The front is prettier. But don’t tell the sides and back; they’ve never met.

I’m sure the signs will lure even more butterflies to my lair.

I really try to keep my posts short and sweet so I don’t lose anyone, but I never know where exactly to stop.

Stop here? 

Maybe stop here?

Nope.more.to.chatter.about

The puzzle is finished.

Can I stop talking about that damn puzzle already? 
No. I can not.

I know, you were probably not sleeping a minute wondering how I was doing with it; it’s finally done and yes, I was missing two pieces. MAX!!

I complained to Linds that it was hard to do because my right arm hurt so much.

Linds: Do it with your left arm.

Why do my children use logic against me?

When I was finished, I wrote a note on the box for my future self or someone else’s future self that two pieces are missing and I sharpied the spots on the box.

If my arm felt better, I’d pat myself on the back for that.

Actually, my arm is feeling a bit better. Thank you all for your wonderful advice; it’s appreciated.
Also, icing it a few times a day has been awesome and something I didn’t think to do before. *duhh*
It’s no picnic being me.

NOW, I’m done.

Kidding.

Does anyone have plans for the weekend?

Suzanne, that was cruel and uncalled for.

Oh, wait.
One more thing.

Our marina has opened back up (with VERY limited contact) so the Coach is excited to get on his boat and go fishing tomorrow. He’s been working a lot and being home with me a lot.
He needs some fun because I can only entertain him so much; that wasn’t a part of our vows.

I DO wish you all a nice weekend doing something you enjoy with people that you can semi-stand being around.
I consider myself fortunate in that way.
I never thought to ask my husband how he felt about it.
Probably just as well…

Bee good
Bee silly
Bee well

XOXO

butterfly lessons and denial

When I was vlogging about my obsession, need, want of the Giant Swallowtails, I assumed everyone knew what they were. Here is what they look like, and they really are large compared to other butterflies.
You know size doesn’t matter, big, small, tall, thin, they’re all beautiful. That was me remembering that butterflies might read this and have body issues. 

Underside of the Giant.

And when they want to hide from the butterfly po-po.

Topside of the Giant

It’s like they are two different critters when sitting as opposed to flying.
Giant swallowtail butterfly images borrowed from here.  They love citrus trees/plants.

Aren’t they gorgeous?

I’ve had some luck with the Eastern black swallowtail; they love parsley, dill, and fennel, which I have growing in the garden.

This boy was released a few weeks ago:

I have to be more diligent in collecting the baby larvae of these because if not, the birds eat them before I can save them.

The birds act like I don’t have food for them; the feeder is always full and still, they want to eat caterpillars. Pretty freaking rude if you ask me.

I’ve released about 25 monarchs this week and I’m going to be forced to slow down because my milkweed can’t grow fast enough with the last batch or four of caterpillars.

I’ve got the whole world in my hand

The world might be falling apart, but here is Suz running around the yard playing with butterflies.
Denial is my favorite place to be. Oh, and Home…home and denial are my favorite places.

Any plans for the weekend? A concert? Shopping at the mall? Moving from the bed to the couch? 
XOXO

She Vlogs again; I finally got what I wanted. Spoiler alert, it’s not a baby dolphin. This time

What day are we on for quarantine? 6, 7, 58? 


I’m so thankful for a large yard that I can wander around to get some fresh air; it makes me less sassy. Can you imagine? 

When I was a kid, both my Dad and his Dad were always (when not working) in the yard; planting, trimming, watering, growing stuff.

I always thought that was just what old people do.

And.here.I.am. 

Happy Tuesday.
So, tacos tonight? 

{virtual} XOXO

Suz Vlogs; noisy neighbor, dirty hair, butterflies

Happy Saturday.
I never post on the weekends, but I feel like we all need some distractions at this time.
I’ve also never done a vlog.
This is unprecedented and pretty boring.
Also, I sound very nasally because lately, I am.

Yes, I talk to the butterflies and the bees; they don’t mind if I’m especially nasally this weekend.

I mentioned this week that Lindsay’s juice bar closed down. They had just received an order of produce so yesterday she and the other peeps had to clear everything out.

She brought over a ton of fresh produce last night, way more than we can ever use. I’m giving a handful to my friend down the street (a family of 6) and keeping just a bit for the two of us.
The rest is going to our friends in Fort Myers who cook and feed the homeless every weekend in a public park.

Don’t you love it when a negative can be turned into a positive? That’s some good science right there.

Dust off the video button on your smartphone and share part of your day to distract the rest of us. Pleeaaase!!!

XOXO

Unintentionally hoarding

I’m proud to say that I’ve not lost my marbles. I actually found four the other day.
Yeah, I’m bragging.
I vacillate between everything is hunky dory, then remembering that the sky is falling.

I’m staying at home as much as possible; I’m fortunate to be able to do that.

The Coach has been going to work and our business is going on as normal. Most of our employees are hourly and they need to work to live; if the building industry stops wanting cabinets and countertops, then we will slow down, but right now, that hasn’t happened.
The office staff have their own offices or are in cubicles. The peeps doing manual labor in the factory are spread out and not working too closely.

Florida has 195 confirmed cases.
Our county has 7 confirmed cases.
Non-essential stores are closing.
Bars/nightclubs are closed.
You know how much I love a good night club, so this is inconvenient.
(I’m really more of a goodnight, club girl)

***

I was low on my tube of toothpaste the other night and went into my toothpaste storage drawer (separate from my toothbrush/current toothpaste drawer) and realized I was unintentionally hoarding toothpaste.

I felt bad.

If anyone is low on toothpaste, please let me know and I’ll share.

***

I’m about to have my own epidemic here at home though. I’m experiencing butterfly-palooza and I have more caterpillars than milkweed. It might get ugly.

A huge potted milkweed plant can go from this:

To this in 24 hours. 

{For perspective, the cage is 3ft x 2 ft}

You remember that book The Hungry Caterpillar? It was not a piece of fiction.

Monarch caterpillars don’t give two sh*ts about social distancing. 

But, they do leave me a lot of sh*t to clean up.

I feel like a caterpillar hoarder at this point; there must be 70 of these sweet little shi*t making boogers in my biggest cage right now.

I do have milkweed randomly planted and sprouted throughout the property, but they are also covered with caterpillars.

*sigh* Having lots of butterflies flittering around our yard is a fantastical problem to have.

FYI: We never hoarded any TP, but I’m ok with that as we do have several water hoses around the house.
I’m not above and outdoor bidet.

Bee kind
Bee a nature lover.
Don’t bee an intentional hoarder

So, do my friends who live in the computer have anything good to share? 

XOXO

Hasta La Bye Bye

The Coach and I are heading out on a little adventure for the first time this year. I only add the ‘adventure’ part because you never know what could happen. Life is unpredictable and we’re going to a place that we’ve never been to, but other people have been there, so I’m sure it will be just fine.

It’s a challenge for me to actually leave the house for a minute trip because I’m a bit of a slave to this place and its inhabitants. Aside from the dogs, I have many, many cats.

Caterpillars.
My Monarch cats have just about eaten me out of house milkweed and home milkweed. It’s actually a good thing I’m leaving because it’ll take some time for my weed to grow back; I said NO to more caterpillars. Sorry, Mother Nature. 

My milkweed production needs to amp it up; my eleventythousand plants are mostly nubs.
Ok, maybe just ONE more little caterpillar?

I took this video a few days ago; I’ll never get over how cute these guys are and it takes ALL of my willpower to refrain from hugging them because, well, then they’d be dead.

I become giddy when I see them sharing AND especially when they’re being so resourceful by eating the actual stems and not just the leaves.

I gave them each high fives.
Just kidding. They have way too many hands feet for that and I don’t have all day; I’ve got to annoy my husband by overpacking my suitcase because I never know what I might want to wear and because I really loathe all of my clothes.
Ok. I really just loathe the way my clothes are fitting lately.…but still, I’d overpack either way.

I can’t believe I said Giddy up there. Is it 1952? 

We have a great housesitter {so, don’t even think about trying to steal my dogs or Christmas storage!} who not only gets to tend to our sweet pups, but she gets to release butterflies almost daily while we’re gone. Plus, I give her actual money too.

I am a giver.
And a complainer.
Shocking information.  
Enjoy the rest of your week; I’m thinking we’re going to have a lot of downtime on this trip and I plan on getting in some good reading; books, blogs, minds, as long as we have good wifi.

Will I blog about our trip? Most likely.
That is after we’re able to get back into the US of A and crossing my fingers that I’ve not been kidnapped, held for ransom, then given back again when they realize I have to eat every 2 hours or else I’m hell on wheels.

*Feverishly packing snacks*

XOXO