Kimmy is a catalog model

I was contacted by the Earth's Birthday Project company requesting permission to use Kimberly's picture with a painted lady in their current catalog, both electronic and paper.

After investingation the company I gave my complete approval.

Head over and check this great educational site out.

They have quite a few get looking education kits available.

We are now expecting praying mantis' in April....I can't wait.

Anticipation....

August 5th
August 16th

August 21st

A Walk out Back

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly sipping from a brown knapweed.
"out back"

I call this "lady bug on queen-anne's lace"

Great Southern White butterfly on brown knapweed

A bee and a lady bug in a white morning glory

An amazing view of a field thistle....a photo looking down into the top of the flower

a macro view of the top view of a field thistle

I never really notice how intricate the flowers of a common pink wild clover are.

Jewelweed......it's amazing to call this a weed!

purple flowering raspberry

the fruit of the purple flowering raspberry....very yummy but very seedy

One of the very abundant wild blackberries growing along the edge of the woods.

One of the most beautiful sights of our walk.

The "catch" of the day

A White Admiral butterfly

Science Sunday--Our Butterflies

Once again this year, I ordered painted lady butterfly caterpillars from Insect Lore. And once again, we weren't disappointed.
Our caterpillars arrived about 2 weeks ago, and within 4 days all the caterpillars had become a chrysalis.
This morning the hatching began.


I love how these butterflies like to stay around for a little while after being released from their "house". They seem to enjoy being held for a while before flying up into the trees.

Caddie the Caterpillar--has hatched!!

About 2 weeks ago Gracie found Caddie the caterpillar on some Queen Anne's Lace wildflowers out in the back fields.

We identified Caddie as a Black Swallowtail caterpillar.

Gracie found Caddie a few days before she transformed into a chrysalis.
Right on time, ten days after entering the chrysalis stage, Caddie has hatched, revealing the truth.....Caddie is a boy....(you can tell by the amount of yellow on the outer wings.)
You can see the empty chrysalis at the top of the photo.
Time for the release.
Out into the fields we went, a perfect spot for a new caterpillar to find the sweet snack of nectar.

Sorry we thought you were a girl, Caddie.

He wasn't eager for help getting out of the butterfly habitat.

Finally, he found his own way out.

Beautiful....

Just beautiful....

Now, this is what I call a science lesson!!

Check out more Science Sunday posts at Adventures in Mommydom.

Caddie the Caterpillar

Gracie caught us Caddie the Black Swallowtail caterpillar this afternoon on the Queen Ann's Lace flowers along the "rocky road".

We can't wait until you make your "big change" Caddie!!!

We will keep you updated on Caddie's progress.

Our Butterfly Release for Ascension Thursday

In honor of Jesus' Ascension into heaven after 40 days on earth after the Ressurection, we released our painted lady butterflies.
Jesus rose, in the presence of his disciples, on a cloud. "Jesus rose into the air, higher and higher, until a cloud covered Him and the disciples saw Him no more."

So today, we watched our butterflies fly up to the clouds and remembered to think about our wonderful, loving Jesus.

We had the honor of releasing 8 butterflies.
Some didn't seem eager to fly.

Some flew a short way, only to be recaptured,

and released again.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving us and provided such beautiful creatures for us to enjoy!!