DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 56

Thanks everyone, and so sorry to hear about your father Deb. : (

It's finally raining here now that we have a cold front moving through. I thought since things were slow it might be a good time to go around and kill the aphids on the milkweed. So naturally, I found two baby Monarch cats and seven eggs. There might be more but the rain went from a sprinkle to a drizzle so I went back inside. I haven't had Monarch cats since...probably November. And the museum hasn't had any in weeks. I don't know when a crazy Mommy Monarch managed to sneak on my property; they sure can sniff out the milkweed.

Since I've been convalescing at home I've been looking through all the new seed catalogs. I want to get some different varieties of milkweed this year. Also, I found that the John Scheeper's http://www.kitchengardenseed.com/index.html catalog has the Mexican sunflower variety I prefer. It's a dwarf called "Goldfinger". I got it as a freebie from Park's seeds years ago and it was a resounding success. Dad likes it, too. I know Mexican sunflowers are excellent butterfly plants so I feel like I should grow them again. Plus, they go from seed to bloom in just over two months (at least in FL) so I can get several "crops" of them through the year as they readily reseed themselves. I just have to thin them out or they get scrawny and don't bloom. All the catalogs sell the "Torch" variety and I've tried those but I prefer "Goldfinger".

Other than my surprise Monarchs, it's mostly been the Gulf Frits around here. Mom saw one of the winter-colored sulphurs the other day. Of course, I ran outside just in time to see it fly to my neighbor's house. I was explaining how the sulphurs get more spotty and have a pinkish tint in the winter. Dad found that interesting; Mom was excited to see something new.

Quite a few of my bromeliads are blooming which is nice since the butterflies have died down. I redid the landscaping at the front of the street and moved a lot of bromeliads out there. I was running out of room in the backyard and I figured since I take care of the front, I can put whatever I want out there, LOL! But I'm pleasantly surprised as the morning sun has been turning my bromeliads all sorts of pretty colors. Sometimes I see butterflies land on them and I wonder if they get confused and think they're giant flowers. I have yet to see one sipping water out of them but I'm sure it's possible.

Here's a picture of my Monarch baby!

Melanie (who enjoys being on short-term disability more than she should)

Mel,

I love kitchen garden seeds. So glad to have just gotten the catalog.

Thanks to our little Milkweed Friend Danny, I now have a bit of an obsession with milkweed. I have 9 new types of seed to start this year. hahah.

Well, I just finished ordering from Select Seeds and Kitchen Garden Seeds. There were a few types of agastache I wanted to try after seeing how popular it is with the beneficial insects. I got my Mexican sunflowers, some new zinnias (Mom likes them as much as the butterflies), dill and fennel, and and a few other things that caught my eye, LOL!

I can't wait to be well enough again that I can go play in the dirt. I'm not used to taking it easy. I like to classify my style as "extreme gardening". If I'm not covered in dirt and there aren't sticks in my pockets, I'm not working hard enough! Plus, I like to do things the old-fashioned way, like when I dug up my vegetable plot all by myself. My parents tried explaining the idea of tillers to me, but I say a shovel is good enough. I guess it's sort of how I like to follow my caterpillars from egg to butterfly and watch the entire process. I think it's fun to go from soil to seed to plant and know that I took part in all the steps. Makes me feel more connected to what I grow, I guess. There's something so impersonal about machinery. Of course, I'm still young so I have the luxury of choosing. My dad is into woodworking and woodturning but he has to rely on his tools due to a genetic hand disorder (Dupuytren's contracture).

Melanie

I was showing Mom an egg on the milkweed bud and I found three more cats hiding in it! So I now have five cats and seven eggs.

Melanie

Ah....actually got home before the sun went down and the cold sets in. Saw something orange flitting around my passion vines and found some newly oviposited eggs. I kept watching this butterfly fly over the back fence then come back into my yard. It circled some hibiscus plants in one corner and I figured it was trying to tuck itself in for the night. Once it hunkered down to roost I realized it was a Julia! Yippie!!! I do so hope I get to raise more Julia cats :o)

~ Cat

Oooh purty! I've only seen Julias in the butterfly tent they had set up at USF. We had a few earlier this year at the museum, but my boss traded with a friend that lives south of here for them. I still have hope of one drifting to my yard. I did have a women come to the museum and said she saw one in her yard. She described it so perfectly that I'm pretty sure that's what it was. So there's hope for me yet!

Melanie

Debnes, I am so sorry about your dad. It sounds as if he was a tremendous contribution to mankind. I know he will be missed. Please know that you are in my heart and prayers.

Melanie, you sound much perkier. I am very glad. Congratulations on your new family of cats. Keep writing. Your postings keep me entirely entertained.

Marna, you will never guess what I picked up today. A Carson microscope. It was dirt cheap and the last one in the store. Excitement is flowing through my veins! Can't wait to see what those tiny insects look like. Oh to look at their little heads. Really see their tarsus. I'm going to be dazzled! lol

Martha

oooooooo. too fun. I'm sure you'll find all kinds of other stuff to look at too. I'm close up obsessed. Even more so now that my eyes are changing!

I'd never heard of a butterfly feeder with nectar, but an old issue of Birds & Blooms mentioned it, said if you make your own it's 1 part sugar to 10 parts water. I've always been a believer in flower nectar for both the hummies and the butterflies myself. How could a butterfly feeder exclude hummies, anyway?

Linda, hummers like 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Much stronger than the BF nectar.

LOL - Marna. I'm close up obsessed too. I have a feeling it's a whole new world close up!

Martha

Glad I'm here to entertain! I am feeling better today. Probably more so because the 7th of the month is when I do grant reporting (I'm an accountant) and the thought of my boss trying to do it without me has had me laughing all day.

We sell a butterfly feeder at the museum and for a while we had one in the flight cage. It has little sponges for the liquid so I imagine hummies wouldn't want to stick their tongue in it. Butterflies seem to prefer real nectar - although, when I was in the butterfly tent at USF they let us feed the butterflies with Q-tips soaked in Gatorade.

This message was edited Jan 8, 2009 3:41 AM

Some of them were harder to persuade, LOL! They do love the anise hyssop.

Melanie

Pretty Julias Cat and Melanie! They were one of my fave in the BF exhibit last March.
Since I don't have any daily pics right now one of you fortunate people in the far south needs to start a new thread. This one is getting a bit long.

Thanks.

Deb, so sorry for your loss as someone said celebrate the life he had and always hold that dear to you.

Sheila, I agree, we need a new thread.

Since all the great butterflies seem to be out of town I just thought you would all like to know that I am starting a bus trip to Edinburg, Tx. Cost is 100.00 each, you must bring your own tent, food, and adult beverage and butterfly brew bar. You must also be very quiet so the owner of the property doesn't know we are there. You will be free to collect all of the wonderful butterflies you see posted on DG from that property. I do hear that the owner being from Tx., has two friends called Smith and Wesson that protect the property. The money will go to a good charity...mine....I need a microscope too! Are you willing to take the chance with me? LOL

Silly in Saginaw

You almost had me signing on there for a minute!! LOL!!



Ok....Here is another thread...please join us there:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/941311/

This message was edited Jan 8, 2009 6:53 PM

Pretty Julias, Melanie. I wish those pretty little creatures were in my zone.

Peg, $100, tent, food, adult beverage, butterfly brew bar, and Smith & Wesson -- hmm -- things that test one's stamina, and only a Texan can endure! Go, girl. Get that microscope!!!!!

Martha in Mars

Ya'll are toooooooooo funny!!!

The front yard sign says "This house is protected by Smith & Wesson" and the back yard sign says "Backyard Butterfly Habitat"

Of course...let's not forget the "Mosquito Crossing" sign either :o) or the fact that the two hounds from hades will lick anyone crossing my threshhold to death!!!

On a serious note though...ya'll should set up a road trip to come down the to LRGV during October when our butterfly festival is going on. So start planning - this year's festival is scheduled for the 22-24th of October. Butterflying is always throughout the fall season.

~ Cat

That's one I've never heard -- mosquito crossing. Hahaha! I love it.

Cat, thanks for the invitation, but Texas is a bit too far to hop in my car for a road trip. Also, I'm a closet person! Sounds exciting, though.

Martha

I do plan on heading your way in late October with or without DH!!

PP, How far are you from Fort Worth?

It is almost 500 miles, comes in at 486 for me.

Mellie hope you are much better now.
Deb, so sorry about your Dad. He must have been well-loved and leading a blessed life. Keep those good memories in mind.
hugs,
Elaine