MY gourd in a new home, butterfly raising , and Maine!

I wanted to start this post with a couple of pictures sent to me from Bob and Sheila of the gourd they bought from me in it's new digs! They really made it look so beautiful in this arrangement in their gorgeous home!

Thank you so much for sending these wonderful pictures!

I have been busy with a new project lately that was fun and educational, I brought 3 monarch caterpillars in the house to raise into butterflies and then set free for the trip to Mexico! It is supposed to be safer for them away from predators and bacteria that can kill them. I kept them clean in a plastic container with a paper towel lid and supplied fresh milkweed leaves daily for them to eat.

After they formed their chrysalis on the paper towel, I moved the paper towel to a larger cage. Here is a picture of the first butterfly to emerge. I was so happy that they had waited for me to return from a trip to Maine to visit our daughter!

Here is my cat Sam wishing he could eat them!

Here is the last one to emerge .The next day I let her go and watched her fly away! Hopefully she will have enough good weather to make it to Mexico where they spend the winter! the other female flew away also but something was wrong with the male and despite my care he didn't make it! I will definitely try this again next year and hopefully see more raised to help them recover from the awful decline in their numbers.

Our trip to Maine was very fun and beautiful! So nice to spend time with Riley and Ryan! Maine is a wonderful place , much like here but with the added plus of the ocean! We went on a whale watching tour but failed to see a whale but beautiful anyway! We did see porpoises and a sea turtle!

We also went to a wonderful place that sells old wood cook stoves and it is also a museum! It was full of old player pianos, music machines, toys, cars, etc. Joe and his wife were wonderful hosts, telling us all about the contents in the museum!

 

 

Then we were off to the common ground fair put on by the Maine organic farmers and growers association. It is a different kind of fair focusing on local organic sustainable farming practices. Lots of educational talks and exhibits! I got my picture taken with Ben and Jerry of ice cream fame!!

I will finish details of our trip next time, as I have to go out and mow the grass! Don't forget the artist reception at Campbell Pottery is Saturday from 1 to 3!!