We've been having wonderful days outside in the sun and breeze. Today, we spent a good portion of the morning and afternoon expanding our butterfly garden. We planted more milkweed ... those little tiny caterpillars become big, fat caterpillars in no time and really start going through the milkweed ;-) We also planted lantana, salvia, marigold, zinna, pansy, vinca and cornflower. A lot of which we've started from seed or transplanted. A mama Monarch was not interupted at all by our gardening. She flittered around our heads and right up under us to lay eggs on the very milkweed we were moving from puts and putting in the ground. Not a very patient butterfly ;-) ... but, I guess when it's time, it's time. She must have been just waiting for us to bring home more milkweed. We have almost a dozen little caterpillars already ... one or two very big ones ... and quite a few tiny ones. We placed three caterpillars, ranging in size, and one egg in our nursery we purchased at Butterfly World. The little egg hatched the very next morning. So, now we have four caterpillars that we are watching closely in our nursery ;-) Boo Boo just observes them with awe ... not even the zillion questions like normal ... just peaceful awe.
We've also been creating little feeding spots for our birds and hoping to invite hummingbirds ... keep your fingers crossed ;-) We do have two little squirrels that just love our platform feeder ... and the other feeders also. We joke that each time I put up a more difficult feeder, the little squirrels sit back for a day or two (with their maps, drafting tools, etc.) and observe and then the little "engineers" go to work on developing a catapult to fly through the air and reach those feeders ;-) What fun to watch!
After a day gardening, we are hot and sweaty and a chilly pool feels nice (okay, so I realize that 80 degrees really isn't chilly, but I like mine like bathwater ;-)). So, that's where we've been spending the afternoon.
Boo Boo is sound asleep now. I sure hope she is having enchanted dreams of caterpillars, butterflies, fairies, squirrels, birds and all the amazing creatures in our yard. She told me today that she thought the fairies would probably come to live in her garden soon since we are getting it all pretty and now the butterflies and birds want to live in it ;-)
HAPPY SPRING everyone!
