*Mrs. Spider's Sunny Patch*

Oh, I'm so excited about this post I can hardly handle it! So you know from my last post that we found monarch caterpillars on three small milkweeds in the back yard... yes? *If not, scroll down and see the beauties* Now, this afternoon James and I were celebrating our official 'sand ceremony' in the backyard. (The annual Sand Ceremony is a joyous occasion in which we christen the sand and water table in the backyard. The ceremony commences the start of sand socks, gritty floors, and sand sludged trails at the bottom of the bathtub... 2008 is predicted to be the sandiest year to date.) *sigh* Anywho, as we were in the thick of the celebration look who fluttered past to join in the festivities!?!?! Yes, a female monarch butterfly!!!




I wasn't in the mood to grab my camera- but she pranced and fluttered around in such a way, that I was convinced it could have been me in a past life- begging for the camera.... SO, I went in to grab my telephoto and see if I could get her in a frame. As if on cue, she immediately lit on one of my tangelos... and enjoyed a slow and long meal of citrus blossoms. The crazy part was that she kept buzzing around the small milkweed that I have... the ones with the caterpillars. Did you know monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed... and that's all the larva eat... is milkweed? Exclusively! She fluttered around them and laid some eggs. Yes, I know that. *I've had a full 48 hours to ingest every smidge of monarch butterfly information from the Natural Science Museum downtown- to every Google article on the net (the clean ones... however, there was an interesting site where you could buy butterfly shaped pasties *tassel optional.) I digress...







The bad news is that my caterpillars seemed to have disappeared... hopefully to form their chrysalis or molt- but I'm nervous that they could have been harmed by some terrible creature. SO, the info I have is to bring the eggs inside and hatch and grow the butterflies indoors away from any natural dangers. Being my mother's child- I did just that. I harvested 17 or so eggs from just ONE plant and a few leaves of the other. That's nuts! Don't monarchs know that they only lay one to two eggs per plant!!!??? Either my backyard habitat is really inviting or we've got some butterflies of ill repute on our hands! Regardless, I've become a mother again. So add butterflies on my list--- under ladybugs, before the snails and earthworms...

A little egg!

Enjoy the pics, and tell me what you think! I'm really excited. If you live close, and want a few to grow yourself, I'll draw up the adoption papers and be happy to review your file to see if you are a suitable candidate for adoption.

******** Oh, and another great side note*******
All preparatory teachers who received a score of LOW 2's on the Teacher Work Sample have been notified to redo their sample. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED! Which can only mean that I passed the thing! I hope I passed with a three- but I guess it doesn't matter... I'll still have my best boys, a sandy tub, and milkweed to procure.