Mother Nature Says...

So Mother Nature (aka Aunti Ann) tells me that our caterpillars were actually Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillars and that I should check out our soffits to look for the chrysalis that will turn into the actual butterfly.  First I had to google soffits.  Turns out these are the eaves that overhang our front porch roof.  However, I see no chrysalis-thingies hanging there.  Those fat caterpillars would have had to crawl all the way up our screens to get there and I never noticed them doing that.  Plus they were so stuffed with our parsley that they probably just said screw it, that's too far, and they are likely hanging somewhere under our decking.  Hope so. 

Our Utah girlies are arriving in Florida with their Dad in less than two weeks for a summer visit.  We will just ignore the heat, stay hydrated and sunscreened and wear hats.  Summer in Florida is like winter in Vermont -- you just stay in the house most of the time.  But we have lots to do and the girls love to draw and paint and bake and sew and swim and stuff and go to libraries and museums.  Can't wait.

Here are some pictures from our visit to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park.  Jamie, Isabella and Evie walking down to the Colorado River.

At Arches National Park:

Our sketcher, Evie -- she's becoming quite the geologist.  She has a rock tumbler and some serious-looking rock-hound equipment.  They take weekend adventures looking for cool rocks.

 

Look closely at this photo below.  We scrambled up to this outcropping on the right (I had to have some assistance with the scrambling), and suddenly we could hear music, a flute or some sort of horn.

 

 

 When I zoom in you can see this guy standing down there playing.  So beautiful and a little eerie.  Natural acoustics!

I like this picture of Jim --

It's so hard to get a handle on the scale of these formations until you see tiny people climbing around inside.  I wish I were a better photographer, or had a better camera, but at least I'm able to capture the memory in my little blog-writing, and in sketches and watercolors (I'm branching out!) and maybe next in fabric.  It's never boring here at The House of Arts and Crafts (and Food and Beer!).

How 'bout this Guardian - looks kind of like the Sphinx, huh?  --cds

Caterpillar Conundrum

We've had a nice-looking parsley plant in a flowerpot sitting by our steps most of the summer, all green and healthy.  Suddenly, two days ago, it looked like this!

I believe these are monarch butterfly caterpillars, yes?  I thought they only ate milkweed?  Would someone please hook me up with Wit Baker as I understand he is an expert on this particular creepy crawlie.  Love the butterflies, but never have been too fond of the caterpillars.

Also, as shown in the photo below, three of them have disappeared leaving only one guy who is finishing up the remainder of the parsley (he's a little hard to see on that back stem under the bright yellow-green basil leaf.

I hope they have crawled away somewhere and are not... uh, dinner guests-of-honor of Mr. Mockingbird or Miss Egret.  The plant in back is a pointsettia, but I only gave it a quick look and didn't see any cocoons.  Where, oh where did they go?

Cool nature stuff still occurs even in the horrendous steambath that is summertime Florida.  I'll check in again if any other interesting critters pass through the yard.  --cds