The Milkweed Tussock Moth Pillar in Pictures

The poetry of the earth is never dead. ~John Keats

It rained for half the day yesterday, and I have to say I'm truly grateful. A few of you mentioned that you're having droughts. Of all the things that terrify me about weather patterns, that it top of the list. EVERYTHING requires water, and the lack of it is just horrible. I'll do a rain dance for you all.

It was actually cool enough here yesterday that I wore a fleece cover-up inside (I kept all the windows open -- love me some fresh air). It was in the 60s! It's supposed to be back into the 90s and humid again by the end of the week, but this respite has been wonderful.

In other news, I thought I'd share our Milkweed Tussock Moth Pillar stories, since we appear to have NO swallowtails or monarchs this year. We have an abundance of Tussock Moth pillars -- far more than we've ever had before. If I had to guess, I'd say we have in the neighborhood of 600 babies on our milkweed.

They're like locusts -- they "swarm" and completely destroy the plant. No nibbling on a leaf for them. Nope ... check it out (you can click the pix to make them bigger if you want):


Unlike any other pillar I've seen, these guys thrive in mass numbers until they're almost grown. It's amazing. They apparently weave some kind of webbed "holder" to keep them on the leaf as they consume it and then migrate to the next, starting over again. Here are pix of three of the largest bundles I found... easily a couple hundred in each of these.





I admit to being half tempted to bring some in and raise them, though certainly they don't look like their numbers are waning. However, their pupae overwinter, and that's just a pain.

Still, I'm glad something is eating the milkweed and that it's not going to waste. I'm still terribly sad about not having any monarchs. :-(

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You Are a Good Friend

You are reliable and dependable. You can be counted on, through thick and thin. You are full of common sense and every day wisdom. You are street smart. You are conscientious and organized. No detail slips past you. People often say you would make a great therapist. You are an excellent listener, and you never judge.

The Letter Test

About 75% right.

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Friday Frying

Summer has set in with its usual severity. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A quick post to chat before I put up the next one -- it's another "dog dish" post, and I don't normally do two a week -- but LOOK at that cover! How could I resist?

It's sweltering here. In the high 90s with about 800% humidity (which is what makes it so bad) and we have no A/C in our house. Even with my fan, my laptop gets so hot I almost can't touch it. My glasses won't stay up .... just slide on down on the sweat that drips from my skin. By 9:00 it's not safe to be outside doing much of anything. I walked the dog yesterday at 7 a.m., and by the time I was home I was dripping.

We have two more days of this coming (today and Saturday). While I'm reasonably certain I'll survive it, it's really very uncomfortable.

And, although we still have no monarchs, we're making up for it in Milkweed Tussock Moths. Check it out:



They stay in a group like that until they're quite big, completely decimating the leaf they're on and moving to the next. It's really pretty incredible.

Wishing everyone a cool, pleasant and fun weekend! Anyone have plans? I do! My friend, Michele, is coming up for a visit. I can't wait.

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You Should Play Classical Guitar

You have an idea of how the world should be. You have a very clear vision for your life. People respect you for holding on to your ideals. You don't stray from what you believe in. You're the type of person who still believes in changing the world. You passionately believe that things should be better. You have strong emotions. You listen to your heart... it has rarely led you astray.

What Classical Instrument Should You Play?

That's about 80% right!

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Monday Meandering

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. ~Rabindranath Tagore

It's Monday, yay! It wasn't a bad weekend, not at all, but busy. I'm still behind, still scrambling to catch up. I really do think it's possible to do that, once I have a few days with no interruptions. My Saturday was mostly like that (after I got home from the dog park and helping my mom move some furniture) and it helped. DH and DD were boating so I had no drama, no interruptions. I was so relaxed and settled by the end of the day. I felt very zen.

It helped that I did some weeding. Really. I love to weed. It's one of those quiet, introspective times for me but still productive (I really like to be productive) and a time where, when I'm done, I can step back and see results. It's satisfying for me on so many levels.

Of course, nothing is ever perfect. I was chopping down some of my mini-iris greens that I have ringing my veggie garden, because they're blocking the sprinklers and nearly chopped off my thumb with the snippers. Oops. Oddly, it didn't really hurt (though it's tender now), so I finished the job with blood running down my hand, lol.

Still no monarch pillars or swallowtails (though I'm grateful about the swallowtails now as any caterpillars would be the kind to overwinter as pupae and I really don't feel like keeping them in my basement again). We DO have a ton of tussock moth pillars. They're so cute and fuzzy and I want to hug them (I don't ... really... I'm a little odd, but not totally crazy). Aren't they adorable?


They usually come in big batches until they get MUCH bigger and it's easy to find them because they totally decimate the leaves they're on.



Brandy asked why I thought we were not getting any pillars this year, and I'll be honest and say that I have no idea. Our winter wasn't the harshest we've had, the spring wasn't the hottest or wettest. Best guess? Butterfly numbers are down. I'm not a crazy uber-environmentalist, but even I can see that when we overuse pesticides, destroy habitat, etc., there will be negative results. The swallowtail typically eats people food plants (carrots, fennel, parsley, etc) so we kill them. The monarch eats a plant considered to be a "noxious weed". In Mexico, where they overwinter, their habitat is being destroyed, hundreds of acres at a time.

In truth, there may come a time we don't see the monarch or black swallowtail anymore. And that makes me sad. But the fact is: I've seen dozens and dozens of tiger swallowtails -- they're everywhere -- and the only difference between those and the black swallowtail is food. The tiger swallowtail eats tree leaves. So, I can't blame the dearth of the black swallowtail on the weather. They overwinter the same.

**sigh**

Tirade ended.

Today, my mom is taking my DD for most of the day. And I'm going to spend a least a little of that getting the new ending to my "Kitchen Matches" sequel written. I have the entire scene in my head, playing out like a movie, and I desperately need to get it down.

I also am planning on trying to visit you. At least as many of you as I can.

I miss you.

In any case, I hope you had a good weekend!

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You Read to Escape

You appreciate creativity and imagination in all aspects of life. You love a good fantasy. You can be passionate to the point of being possessive. It's hard to quell your flames. You see beauty everywhere, and you like to share your inner world with others. You love to get lost in someone else's head. You are truly curious about other people's dreams.

The Bookmark Test

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

All that from a bookmark ... and pretty close to correct.

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The Tussock Moth Pillar That Ate New Hampshire

We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics. ~Bill Vaughan

In Pillar Place: Monarch we released two more butterflies yesterday (both males -- see how thin the black lines on their wings are?). Meet....

Pi:



and Rho:


Omincron will most likely hatch today, and then we'll have a wait for the other mass of pillars-now-pupae that did their thing yesterday.

I was absolutely blown away by the sheer numbers of Milkweed Tussock Moth pillars we found yesterday, and had to take a picture. Unfortunately, I'm still only able to use my cell and it kept wanting to focus on the scene behind the pillars. Here's what I got.

Mass #1 -- these guys only just shed their "baby" skin (which is a pale yellow and not nearly as fuzzy) and are hanging on to the stripped milkweed leaves for dear life:




Here's another batch of slightly older ones we found under a leaf -- as they grow, they become more solitary:


And here is a batch of babies .... I wish you could see them better. I really need a new camera:



That's what we think our little orange eggs are going to turn into... good thing they're cute, or we'd be a little freaked out by the sheer numbers.

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You Are Complicated

You have many sides to your personality. You aren't exactly the easiest person to figure out. You are quirky and apt to contradict yourself. You are constantly evolving and changing. You have a unique take on life, and unlike most people, you're not too optimistic or pessimistic. You appreciate novelty and uniqueness. Most of your favorite things are acquired tastes.

The Smoothie Test

About 50/50 ....

A Really Good Book

A man ought to read just as inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good. ~ Samuel Johnson

Thanks to all for your comments on books yesterday -- I'm actually reading one of the best books I've picked up lately. Mary mentioned it in her comments, and I'd just picked it up from Carina Press a few days back because it sounded like a hoot. It's "Exclusively Yours" by Shannon Stacey, and the author has an absolutely fabulous voice (especially if you're a fan of romantic comedy -- this book isn't "comedy" per se, but it doesn't exactly take itself seriously, either). I'm only about 60 pages in, but I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open last night and then laid there and thought about the thing, and can't wait to open it up and read some more. Provided something awful doesn't happen, this will end up being one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Thank heavens. It was such a breath of fresh air after the last two that I read.

So, THANK YOU Shannon Stacey. I owe you, big time.

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Hey ... if you didn't notice, I've been responding to your comments IN the comments section. I'm trying to be better about doing that, and am getting over twice a day to do so. Because, yanno, I appreciate you all swinging by and saying "howdy". I'm also almost caught up with visiting the folks I was behind on (I missed you!). I wish I had hours a day to blog hop. I really do enjoy it.

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So, yesterday I went to the dollar store for pantyhose to wrap the stems of my squash plants. They didn't have any, so I bought these incredibly chincy trouser socks in a gawd-awful shade of puce that are pretty much the same texture. This morning, I'm going to spray the pogees out of each stem with my poison -- in case there are already eggs there (so when they hatch, when they start eating they should die) and then wrap the stems in the socks. I'll have the best dressed squash on the street. With any luck, I won't lose my squash plants this year. :::fingers crossed:::

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In Pillar Place: Monarch, I found two more butterbabies yesterday while harvesting food for the OTHER twenty-five. Cuz, yanno, I needed more to tend to. One of them did a Kamikaze leap from his leaf (monarch pillars do this for protection -- but they attach a web first). I saw him dangling there, in mid-air, so nabbed him. Another was on the back of a leaf ... he's not looking too healthy, so I'm not sure he's going to survive.

We also have HUGE numbers of Tussock Moth caterpillars. They hang out together for the first few days and utterly decimate milkweed leaves. Once they're a bit bigger, they move out on their own, and are just the prettiest looking things. I know I've posted pictures of them before, but I can't stand it... don't you just want to pet them? (And, yes, I actually DO pet them when I find them. They don't seem to mind).



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You Are Shampoo

When a problem comes your way, you jump at the opportunity to solve it. You're especially good at "cleaning house" and making sure a tight ship is being run. You find it easy to let go of the past and move on with your life. You're a big believer in fresh starts. You don't leave a lot of room for junk in your life. If something doesn't suit you, you're eager to toss it to the curb.

Are You Shampoo or Conditioner?

Um... yeah. That's about 85% right. I'm not so good at letting go of the past, but the rest? Right on! LOL...

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Nothing Ever Goes As Planned

You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish. ~Author Unknown

So... Yesterday didn't quite turn out as planned. At 11:00, my garage door opened (and scared me to death) and in walked DH.

He said he'd been feeling better until he walked into the climate controlled building at work -- he instantly started coughing and getting congested again, so he came home. It's a shame buildings only do recycled air any more and don't have windows you can actually open for some fresh stuff. I think that's what helped DD and I stay healthy. The weather here has been gorgeous during the day, in the mid-70s, so I opened every single window in the house all day, every day. Flush out those germies!!

In any case, it was the first in a long list of things that didn't go as planned, and I am a creature of habit so it made for a very stressful day for me. Ah well, them's the breaks!

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DD and I are trying to think of a name for her new business so I can get it set up online. I've decided NOT to use Etsy (their fees are a little steep for a kid's shop - .20 to list each item and 3.5% commission on every item sold PLUS they unlist your item if it doesn't sell after a certain amount of time and you have to pay the listing fee to put it back up again. On a $2.00 item, this pretty much kills the profit), and am most likely going with an online place called Artfire. I like how it looks (very professional), and the fees are far more reasonable, IMHO. There are NO fees if you only have 12 items listed, and it's a flat fee of $12/mo otherwise). Also, they allow you to link to blogs, twitter, etc., where Etsy does not. AND, you can even sell ad space on your page via Project Wonderful and keep the revenue. I just really think it's a far better deal.

Sorry to go on and on, but you can tell I was really excited to find Artfire when I was so unhappy about Etsy's fees, lol.

Anyway, the point is we're trying to think of a shop name and would love input. It may not end up being ONLY beading -- she's already thinking of other stuff she could create and sell, so we don't want it to say "Beading" or "Beads" or whatever.

She thought of "Imagination Creations" but it doesn't *quite* sound right.

Anyone have any ideas?

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Isn't it amazing how you can pop right out of bed when you're worried about something? The last few mornings, I've had to drag my rear out of bed, but this a.m.? I woke up and realized the cat wasn't bothering me to feed her... all I could picture was the cat lying dead somewhere so I leaped up and started looking.

I found her, locked into a room she'd gone in last night and then fallen asleep. What surprised me most, though, was that she wasn't crying, just sitting patiently at the door until I let her out. She's a VERY vocal cat, so that was just plain odd. Of course, the moment I opened the door, she started giving me the business all the way down to the kitchen until I fed her! *G*

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We whacked down the milkweed yesterday -- the seedpods were starting to open, and I just don't need any more plants there. Unfortunately, there were still some Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars eating, so we relocated them down the street where there was more milkweed growing in the wild. I really love those pillars -- so fuzzy and cute (photo from http://www.richard-seaman.com):



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Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? Here our plans are sealing the driveway and chopping wood by hand (DH has apparently opted out of getting a wood-splitter).

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We Have Butterbabies!

“Butterflies... not quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures.” - Elizabeth Goudge

We have butterbabies! In Pillar Place: Monarch we hatched two butterbabies yesterday: Maria and Nancy! My camera won't take the super-duper close up pictures of this, but Bird Chick has this amazing post about Monarch's hatching. The baby is actually far harder to see than the egg! If it didn't have it's little black head, I'd probably never find it on the milkweed.

I found this cool video of a pillar hatching (filmed through a microscope, which should tell you how tiny they are!):



Monarch tidbit: Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making transatlantic crossings. They are becoming more common in Bermuda due to increased usage of milkweed as an ornamental plant in flower gardens. Monarch butterflies born in Bermuda remain year round due to the island's mild climate.

In Pillar Place: Swallowtail, we had another release. Bugsy emerged and was another female. Welcome Bugsy:



As an aside, we found a pile of Milkweed Tussock Moth eggs, and DD wants to raise them inside, too. I've said "NO", but may cave in a moment of weakness. They ARE really cool to look at, don't you think:



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You Are an Ice Cream Sandwich

You are well grounded, reliable, and very balanced. You love to work hard, but you also know how to take it easy. People might be surprised to know you have a very goofy side to you. You like to let loose and have fun. You just don't let yourself go too crazy!

What Frozen Treat Are You?

That's remarkably close! ...

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Kitchen Matches

When one of my plants dies, I die a little inside, too. ~Linda Solegato

So... I have a release coming up in ten days, for Kitchen Matches. And totally forgot because of all the hullaballo involved with the LASR Anniversary Contest. (Today, BTW, you can win a huge prize package of autographed books, CD, perfume and more... you should check it out).

Thing is: I LOVE this story. I only wish is was longer, because I also LOVE the cover and would adore having it in print.

In any case, I'm trying to think of a good contest to run with it. Hopefully, by Monday morning, I'll have thought of something -- I'm open to suggestions! What kinds of things do YOU like to win in a contest?

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Our Tussock Moth larvae have reappeared, much larger, but in smaller numbers. I assume many of them died (which is probably a good thing, given how many there were). BUT, I found a new batch of them yesterday. My milkweed is going to be decimated. I suppose that's what it's there for, though, right? For the critters to eat?

My squash plants blessed me with ONE squash yesterday afternoon, so I'm going to make squash muffins for breakfast. Yum.

I moved rocks yesterday. From my "vole garden". I didn't realize just how many rocks we had there. Worse, the wheelbarrow has a flat tire, something I didn't realize until I'd loaded it up and moved about ten feet. By then, I couldn't just leave it in the middle of the lawn (should have gotten a clue by how hard it was to push... silly me), so I had to haul them by hand out back. We live on a chunk of land, so it wasn't that easy of a task.

Worse, despite the eight million rocks I moved yesterday, I still have at least that number to move today. And, yes, I may be exaggerating just a little.

Here's a picture of the garden from last year... take a look at the size of those rocks! They not only surround the garden, but are also strategically placed throughout:



It used to be so pretty.



And the voles came and made it a desolate wasteland. They ate everything: the hosta, the columbine, the crocus, the iris, the liatris... even the roots off my dragonsblood sedum. And, no I don't have pictures of the disaster that is Vole Hill. And, no, I didn't take those pictures in January -- I wish. Ha. I just forgot to set the date on my camera.

So. I'm moving rocks today. What are YOU doing?

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Monday Morning Meme

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst. ~William Penn



1. What is your blogging style?

** Stir it up
** Can we talk?
** Observing the scene
** Stuff you want to know

Why is that? Tell us why you think your blogging style falls into one of the above categories. Are you okay with this style? If you could change your blogging style, what would you change it to?

I think I'm mostly "Can we talk"... I feel like I should be "Stuff you want to know", but honestly I just like to gab. IRL I'm kind of into stirring things up, to be honest, but not in my virtual one. What do you guys think? Should I stick with gabbing, or try to teach you something now and then?

2. Have you ever read a book because Oprah suggested it? If so, what was the title and was it what you expected? If not, why not?

Good heavens NO!! In fact, I go far, far out of my way to avoid anything she recommends, running as quickly as possible in the opposite direction. She likes far too somber and depressing books, not my forte at all. Blech.

3. Who do you turn to if your techie things die? Why this person? Are you very good at fixing techie things? Tell us your most successful, or most terrible, experience at fixing something techie.

My DH works in the industry, so he is always my tech support. I'm fairly technically saavy, but when I'm stuck he's my go-to guy. Off the top of my head, I can't recall an especially bad or tremendously good experience of my own trying to fix something to be honest. Sorry.

4. July is nearly over, any final words? (Sum up your month for us - the good and the bad).

Wasn't the best month, to be honest. I found THREE bees/yellow-jackets nests. The weather has been WAY to wet (in fact, it's raining even as I'm writing this. DD sliced her toes open. DH work 500 hour days (okay, I admit to exaggerating just a little on that one).

And the WORST thing? No one else though my milkweed moth pillars were cute!

**sniff**

Come on... they're CUTE. I want to hug them and love them and call them George.

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You Are Not a Wimp

In fact, you are an incredibly tough person. Your nerves do not get the better of you. You don't back down from challenges or intimidating situations. You love the thrill of conquer... so much so that it outweighs the fear of defeat.

Are You a Wimp?