Wordless Wednesday

Happy Mothers Day "Typhoid Mary"

As I said in my last post...."I am not sick often" but like everyone else, I am occasionally hit with a nasty little bug. In this case I should say a BIG BUG. Of course the bug eventually made its way over to the other side of the bed and bit my precious hubby. Shortly after Randy and I were married I caught the flu... and like any loving new bride...I shared it with my groom. From that point on...anytime I got sick and passed it on to him...he would call me "Typhoid Mary". Had we gone to the doctor immediately recovery might have been a little quicker...then again, maybe not as it was probably just a nasty viral infection. Well, thank goodness...we are both feeling much better.

I had a lovely Mother's Day.We celebrated on Saturday rather than Sunday. Randy came home from work last Friday evening and said "Your Mothers Day will be tomorrow, we need to be there by 9:30 am...and Oh yeah, bring your camera." The only information I could pull out of him was:
1. Dress...extremely casual
2. No walking involved
3. It would take about 2 hours
So we got up at 7:30 and had breakfast at the IHOP...and then we drove off to the unknown...well the unknown to me. I didn't care where we were going...I was just thrilled to to be spending time with my love and that he had planned something special for me.

I was really curious when we pulled up at Riverfront Park...A concert maybe? No, I didn't recall hearing about any concerts and besides...the place it not really big enough for a concert. But still I thought it must be a show of some sort. Until, the boat arrived...

We sailed away aboard The Cardinal and enjoyed a relaxing two hour tour of the Neches River... "The Last Wild River" in east Texas. The day was a beautiful cloudy day...which means we were not dying from the heat. It was educational. Both Randy and I have lived in this area pretty much all of our lives...yet neither of us had ever been on the Neches River. It was peaceful and quiet. The guide and a few others spoke a little...but for the most part all we could hear was the boat rippling through the water, and the birds singing.











Once the tour was over we went straight home. I felt so sleepy that I took a two hour nap. Nature just does that to me.

On Sunday I spent the day with my children and visited my own mother. I hope everyone enjoyed "Mothers Day" weekend as much as I did.

It's The Little Things...

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain
Oh my goodness gracious, do I feel lazy! This comes over me about this time every year. The kids are out of school for Spring Break and our life finally slows down a bit. I do miss my girl Gianna...but for now the quiet is nice.

Saturday, Randy and the kids cleaned the yard...while I relaxed out on the deck. HEY! Someone has to be the supervisor! The sun felt wonderful! I just propped my little feet up, closed my eyes and soaked up the warmth of the sun and the fresh air. It was a glorious day! Mowing was not an easy task...it has rained so much this winter and the ground is still quite soft....but the yard looks so much better and I am happy to report...I am beginning to see some green grass peeking up through all the brown.

Well...that is not all I did. I also got my camera out and took a few pictures of my family working in the yard, the beautiful blooms that are bursting out on every tree limb and of course...the adorable black lab playing fetch. He has been waiting for someone to throw that ball for weeks! I was all going well for him...until he decided to attack the weed eater. The weed eater didn't get him...but he broke his toenail when he was dancing around it. "Tiny Tim" will milk that injury for every drop of pity he can get.... for days!


On Sunday...the rain showers returned and we stayed in bed all day long. We watched a few movies a few crime shows and snacked in between naps. Isn't it amazing how the littlest things mean so much. Some take off for great places like Fort Lauderdale, Disney for Spring Break...but we are just enjoying the fact that there is no rush and we can sleep late! AH SPRING!


If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

Feathered Visitors

These little cuties have been showing up in my backyard lately. I'm not sure what kind of birds they are...but they are almost tame. They let me get very close...and when I do get close...theydon't fly away
they just kind of hop away. Some of them have the bright lemon yellow belly and the others a have just a light yellow but mostly gray belly
I am pretty sure the bright yellow would be the males...since male birds are usually prettier than the females. They are happy, tiny birds that sing a pretty little tune.
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There are many birds that choose to stay here in Southeast, Texas for the Winter months...but I don't think that I have ever seen these little guys before.

Life Goes On...

I did a blog awhile back about Monarch Butterflies and the Milkweed plant...which is the staple of their diet. I purchased the plant at a local nursery last Spring... and I was delighted that there were already a few caterpillars chomping away at the plant. Truly amazing to watch as they double, and then triple in size over a period of only about 10-14 days. I was a little disappointed that all but one had crawled off to the woods to go through the chrysalis phase...but I happily documented the progress of that one who chose the eave of my house. Again...I was disappointed to find that one morning while I slept... the new butterfly had flown away. That's nature I guess... there is always next spring!

In early October I noticed a monarch butterfly hovering around the now huge milkweed plant. I was on the phone chatting away...and chasing a butterfly around the plant with camera in hand. I just wanted a picture of it on one of the flowers...with it's wings open and to be honest I wasn't even that determined to get the shot. It wasn't until later that evening that I justrealized what I had captured. She wasn't merely just hovering around the plant...she was laying eggs.

I am certain that bugs do not think...but if she were...I imagine it would have been something like 'gee lady...could I get a little privacy please?' Had I known what she was doing, I probably would have left her alone. I wasn't even aware that they did this in October...I assumed the warm months. But I have since learned that there is 1st, 2nd, 3rd and fourth generation Monarch Butterflies...1-3 eat, lay eggs, and die during the summer. October is the fourth generation. It MIGRATES south and lives 4-5 months in Mexico or Southern California..hibernates...reawakens, becomes active, finds a mate, begins the flight northward and lay their eggs...and finally die.

About 2 weeks later...we noticed caterpillars chomping on the plant. At first you can barely even see them...so these had probably been eating for a couple of days.



This is just part of our milkweed plant...it was tiny when we bought it...but is pretty big now. There are many different varieties...this one is common milkweed and is native to Mexico.
They are cheap, very hearty plants that require very little attention or care... and will come back bigger and stronger every year. Unlike last spring... more than just a "few" caterpillars came in the Fall. We lost count at 120. So...I probably should get more plants next spring.


As the leaves disappeared...the caterpillars became more desperate and surprisingly aggressive. They began to fight over the leaves and flowers.

This is what was left of the plant. Some of the Caterpillars were still very small. I assume they crawled off in search of more Milkweed.

Notice the droppings around the Caterpillar. I assumed that it was poop. I was wrong...as they outgrow and shed their skin. Which by the way... they eat.


I was delighted to find that quite a few of them had chosen my house, porch and the plant itself to go through their change from caterpillar to chrysalis and ultimately...Butterfly!

Next they spin sort of a web and hang from it. Their bodies hang in sort of a C shape. They wiggle and jiggle until they are covered by the cocoon.


I wonder why I didn't enjoy science back in high school? Well...I guess that is a thought to ponder?
The Chrysalis itself is quite amazing...it is almost like it is outlined with Gold Leaf

Each day I could visually see the changes...the chrysalis appeared to change colors...I could almost see the butterfly forming.

Apparently...one was quite a bit ahead of the rest. Sadly we found her floating in a bucket on my back porch.

I continued to watch the others with great hope of capturing the escape and first flight....

About five days into the process our weather changed. A cold front came...which lowered our temps from the 70's to the 40's. I wanted to bring a few of them inside...but my husband said I shouldn't."They may make it and if they don't...it is just the way of nature" I'm not exactly certain as why I listened? Nut I did. As someone who lives in the country...I am aware that sometimes nature is cruel...and it is that way for a purpose. There is a reason a mother bird pushes baby bird out of the nest before it is ready to fly. There is a reason why a mother pig will push her deformed piglet away...refusing to allow it to nurse. But in this case...would it have hurt anything to intervene?

Our weather improved and the temperature returned to the 70's. I continued to watch them with hope. But two weeks passed and I realized that it just wasn't going to happen.


I couldn't help but feel just a little heart broken. That's nature I guess. Life is full of disappointments but it really does go on. There is always next Spring!

"Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do."
~Michel de Montaigne

Check out what happened the very next day!
Miracles Do Happen --a surprise ending to my photo journal. 4th generation Monarch Butterflies in my back yard!

When they first hatch..you can barely even see them...so these had been eating for a few days.

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As some of you might remember...on October 4th I accidentally captured (on film) a Monarch butterfly laying eggs on our backyard milkweed plant. October- These are the 4th generation butterflies and will migrate to Mexico!