Northern Pearly Eye We are continuing to experience unusual summer weather this year. July was cold and wet and while the temperatures have warmed up in the past few days, we have been drenched by frequent heavy rains. Our lawn is thick and green and needs cutting twice a week. The garden is butterfly and [...]
Archive for the ‘butterflies’ Category
Where are the Butterflies and Bees?
Posted in butterflies, environment on August 11, 2009 | 16 Comments »
Friday Flowers: In Unlikely Places
Posted in butterflies, friday flowers, guest photographers, mexico on November 21, 2008 | 16 Comments »
The pictures for this post were all taken by my husband.He did a great job! Click images to enlarge. At dawn this past Monday morning my husband and brothers went with a guide to the desert for a few hours of exploration. This was a different outing than The Becka and her cousins took the [...]
New Butterfly!
Posted in butterflies on September 20, 2008 | 14 Comments »
I have been watching large groups of Monarch butterflies gathering together amongst the wildflowers in the meadow over the past week. Our three Monarchs have been slow to eclose and today, three weeks to the day that the caterpillar shed its skin for the last time, the first one appeared. The other two will be [...]
Friday Flowers: Noxious Weeds?
Posted in butterflies, friday flowers on September 19, 2008 | 13 Comments »
Painted Lady on Spotted Knapweed About an hour west of our home is an area known as the West Perth Wetlands. The town of Mitchell transformed their old sewage lagoons into a series of ponds which attract large numbers of waterbirds especially during spring and fall migration. The surrounding meadows and woodlands are connected by [...]
Overdue
Posted in butterflies on September 18, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Day 18 The chrysalis is becoming more transparentand soon will appear to be black.The butterfly should eclose soon.I do hope to see it happen!(click to enlarge photo) (Seabrooke just wrote an interesting post on Monarchs here)
Mid-September Morning
Posted in butterflies, nature, seasons of life on September 16, 2008 | 12 Comments »
It is hard to believe September is half gone. Most mornings have been cool and some have been to the point of frost in outlying rural areas. The earth is still warm, the dew is heavy, and mist rises from the river early in the day. My feet are soaked as I cross the lawn [...]
Nature’s Odds
Posted in butterflies, family, nature on September 7, 2008 | 15 Comments »
Monarch Chrysalis -Day 7 The wings of the developing butterfly are clearly seen through the green chrysalis as it enters its second week in this stage. By next week a new butterfly should be feeding on nectar and beginning its flight south for the winter. The inborn knowledge of this simple creature is astounding. Three [...]
Monarch Transformation
Posted in butterflies on September 1, 2008 | 18 Comments »
One chrysalis, two caterpillars The four Monarch butterfly caterpillars I brought home last week have done well and one of them changed to the chrysalis form a couple of days ago. Two others assumed the hanging position yesterday afternoon and one smaller one is still eating milkweed leaves. A couple of years ago, Bev of [...]
Friday Flowers: Found on a Thistle Bloom
Posted in butterflies, friday flowers on August 29, 2008 | 14 Comments »
Our day in Toronto last weekend was one of the hottest of this summer. Hazy humidity hung over the city and the sun’s rays were strong. We spent a few hours on the city streets and then drove over to the Leslie Street Spit. (I wrote about the area before in this post). Tommy Thompson [...]
Monarch Rescue
Posted in butterflies on August 28, 2008 | 16 Comments »
Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars Schools open here on Tuesday and fields adjacent to sidewalks and schoolyards are being mowed after a summer of growth. Milkweed is abundant and is one of the most common plants being cut down. This is the exclusive food of Monarch butterfly larvae and late summer is the time of year when [...]
