Emergence

A butterfly emerged last week... I photographed it, and then three more followed suit!

Drinking Gatorade

It was very exciting to wake up one morning to a fresh butterfly! I had to move it out of the small cup that the caterpillars had arrived in, and cocooned in. Now they are all in this larger glass bowl with the coffee filter on top, which has the last cocoon dangling from it. Two of the butterflies were released yesterday and flew away beautifully! The two we kept have damaged wings because they were born in the night and I wasn't able to get them onto anything before their wings dried. I feel really terrible about it. Now there's a branch in there, for the last butterfly to attach itself to. It was just kind of a shock to have one butterfly come out, then three more almost the very next night. The last one will take longer since it didn't cocoon until quite a bit after the others.


Anyway, Spring is officially sprung, and I took a wet, spring walk the other day...

New pink rain boots!

I'm so glad that it's finally warming up again. It's been a bizarre "winter". Cold, yet no snow to speak of, and now that it's spring earlier than last year, it stayed kind of chilly... we've had freeze warnings the past couple weeks. 

Forget-me-nots

Dogwood blooms are out, but smaller than last years

Also, I thought I'd found a meteorite and was very excited! I researched and thought that I had been the lucky finder of a space rock... check it out:

Turns out that it's probably just slag. But it sure had me fooled for a while! I'm keeping my eyes open, though! You just never know!!


I hope you're all doing well... happy and healthy! I'm spending lots of my free time hiking and connecting with nature. Getting grounded. I really need it.


xox

An Early Spring Walk

The weather was nice the other day, and after all the emotional expenditures lately, I felt I needed to just get out for some fresh air. It was exactly what I needed: a reminder that life does go on, and a hint of spring...

I walked down my usual route and then entered Nisky Hill Cemetery. I meandered along the paved walks under the 100+ year old trees, and just listened to the breezes playing through the branches and bushes, and to the birds overhead. Then I heard the sound of rustling in the brush below the edge of the drop-off that ends at the creek below, and looked down to see three deer. So I sat and waited here for them to come up...

They didn't show themselves up at the cemetery while I was there that day, though. It stayed calm above, so I wandered back the way I came and saw some snowdrops coming up through the ground...

I also noticed the ombre greens of a patch of moss...

which reminded me that life continues, even after the death of winter. Sometimes these reminders are all it takes to pull you out of a funk. I hope you're seeing some signs of spring for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere! I think it's coming early to the east coast this year, despite what the groundhog said. 


Blessings... xox