No picture. Just a simple moment that brings simple pleasure: A leaf falls, drifting to the ground just as I pass.
Many tiny moments that make me smile happen nearly everytime I walk the yard.
Recreating a native habitat has been a dream of mine since I was about 18. It only took me 20 years, but I finally have two acres of land in the country with which to work (and play). My goal is to document the improvements I make to the property: restoring habitat & attracting birds and butterflies in addition to other wildlife.
Showing posts with label simple joys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simple joys. Show all posts
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Emerging Evidence
After our two monarch caterpillar got progressively bigger, they disappeared. Because the Argiope aurantia spiders had webs near the butterfly weed, I was just a little concerned that they had become lunch. Some of the good people at my favorite forum (Wildlife Gardeners) told me that it was unlikely as they become more and more toxic the more milkweed they ingest. I was told that they had most likely crawled off to pupate--thanks tineckbone.
I half-heartedly looked for the chrysalises, but soon gave up. Just yesterday, I stumbled across what I quickly realized was the remains of the chrysalis that had enclosed one of the caterpillars. I missed the green gem with the golden dots of the chrysalis, but easily recognized the remains of it. So far, I've only seen the monarch's chrysalis in photographs, but I hope to spot them next year.
I'm thrilled to have spotted this evidence that the caterpillar survived and emerged as an adult monarch butterfly. As bridget1964 says, "If you plant it, they will come." I'm happy to say they did, and I plan to add more milkweeds to the property. Here's hoping to have a lot more butterflies and caterpillars next year.
I half-heartedly looked for the chrysalises, but soon gave up. Just yesterday, I stumbled across what I quickly realized was the remains of the chrysalis that had enclosed one of the caterpillars. I missed the green gem with the golden dots of the chrysalis, but easily recognized the remains of it. So far, I've only seen the monarch's chrysalis in photographs, but I hope to spot them next year.
I'm thrilled to have spotted this evidence that the caterpillar survived and emerged as an adult monarch butterfly. As bridget1964 says, "If you plant it, they will come." I'm happy to say they did, and I plan to add more milkweeds to the property. Here's hoping to have a lot more butterflies and caterpillars next year.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Special Moments
For the past two days, I've been moving a lot of rocks, shoveling sand, and digging up plants and planting them elsewhere. These rocks are not for the streambed and pond that I'm planning, instead they are bluestone slabs that I'm moving from the front to extend the stone path by the back door into a stone patio. This is an old house that needs a LOT of work--but those stories and pics are for another blog--LOL...who knows, maybe I'll make one about the renovations, but don't hold your breath.
Anyway, after a working out back for hours on end--and loving it--I finally forced myself to go inside as it was beginning to get dark. As I often do, I went back out to look at what I'd accomplished. I sat down on the back stoop and, that movement caught my eye. I'm not sure why but my first thought was a snake. As my eyes zoned in on the movement, I saw a toad scrambling up the 45 degree slope of a rock leaned up against the sand pile. It was such a cool thing to witness as he finally made it to the top. That is when he caught sight of me and froze. I ran in to get the camera and he was still there frozen in place. I guess he missed his chance to hide. So, I was able to get a few shots, and thanks to adjusting the brightness and contrast, I have some half decent shots.
I enjoy seeing glimpses of the lives of animals in our yard. That is part of the joy of native gardening
Anyway, after a working out back for hours on end--and loving it--I finally forced myself to go inside as it was beginning to get dark. As I often do, I went back out to look at what I'd accomplished. I sat down on the back stoop and, that movement caught my eye. I'm not sure why but my first thought was a snake. As my eyes zoned in on the movement, I saw a toad scrambling up the 45 degree slope of a rock leaned up against the sand pile. It was such a cool thing to witness as he finally made it to the top. That is when he caught sight of me and froze. I ran in to get the camera and he was still there frozen in place. I guess he missed his chance to hide. So, I was able to get a few shots, and thanks to adjusting the brightness and contrast, I have some half decent shots.
I enjoy seeing glimpses of the lives of animals in our yard. That is part of the joy of native gardening
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