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I’m happy to share that, yes, the caterpillar is still alive. And there’s a new development that leads me to believe that it’s nearly time for it to form its chrysalis, heralding its impending transformation into a beautiful butterfly!
Continue reading “Update: Raising An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar”
Welcome to my shipped eggs adventure, part 2. After a terrible hatch of shipped Lavender Ameraucana eggs earlier in the season, I was left with a single hatchling…and she’s grown into a beautiful bird with a charming personality. I had to have more! So, ever the glutton for punishment (or perhaps secret optimist?), I purchased more eggs from a different seller, in the hopes that they would eventually become more lovely lavenders.
Continue reading “In The Incubator: Lavender Ameraucana Hatch #2”
Who’s incubating eggs in October? I am! And they’re shipped eggs, which means – given how slow and unreliable postal service has become – that, at the end of three weeks, there may or may not be chicks. Whether you’re also a hatching fanatic or you just want to live vicariously, follow along to see how the incubation progresses!
Continue reading “In The Incubator: American Bresse Eggs”
Mornings have been chilly – down in the 60s – and I was very surprised to find a bright green caterpillar on the rim of a tub outside. Having recently researched caterpillars for another post, I knew this was a special caterpillar, and I wondered why it was motionless, out in the open, covered in dew. Was it even alive?
Continue reading “Growing Things: Raising An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly”
With Autumn upon us, flowers like Queen Anne’s Lace have mostly bloomed and gone to seed around here. While the goldenrod is still going strong, another “weed” is alive with insects seeking nectar. It’s so popular, in fact, that the bushes buzz with the sound of the industrious creatures.
Continue reading “Around The Farm: Busy Bees And Working Wasps”
I must confess that I’ve taken the grasshoppers and crickets here for granted. Pastures teeming with the insects seem to imply that their populations are healthy…but, on a larger scale, they’re not. One day – soon, even – they may disappear.
Continue reading “Haiku: Ghost Grasshopper”