Monarch Chrysalis in the Woodland Garden

Just to follow up on the Monarch Caterpillar I posted on Tuesday ... and a big shout out to Shady Gardener for her comment providing us with such great information about the progress to expect over the next few days! Thanks so much, Shady! (Need any more Monarda? LOL)

This afternoon, after Fernymoss got back from work, I was telling him what we might see be able to expect from the caterpillar, so he had to grab the camera and head out to get some shots of what has happened since he first discovered it back on August 24. Lo and behold, our friend is well on its way to full adulthood and will probably emerge within the next few days and then wing on out on its migration south (perhaps after lingering here a while I hope...). We both are really excited about its decision to undergo its metamorphosis in our humble Woodland Garden, but apparently it was an inviting enough place for it to undergo the most important phase of its life so far. We feel really flattered and privileged that it has chosen our garden which, as most know by now, we try to make as butterfly friendly as we can by planting some of their favorite feeding and resting places. I think that this year, we definitely hit pay dirt for a bit of butterfly love, and from all possible ones, it's a Monarch!

In this shot you can clearly see the outline of the fully formed wings through the still somewhat opaque chrysalis, but according to Shady, it should clear up gradually as emergence time approaches. Also note the interesting gold spots on the outside of the chrysalis .. I'm not sure exactly what those are all about in the greater scheme of things, but they surely mark this butterfly in the making as a Monarch. Never fear, we'll be out every day now until it emerges to chronicle the progress going on just outside of the living room windows! So stay tuned, so to speak....

Work is shaping up to be another busy week, so I offer my apologies in advance if I miss a post or two here, or if I don't visit the other great garden blogs that I've been in the habit of haunting the past several months. I have to admit that I was a bit lax last week, due in part to the Democratic Convention (yes, I'm a political junkie if you hadn't figured that out yet) and part due to work demands, so I got a little slackerly on keeping up with things around here and the garden blogosphere.

I usually try to keep politics out of the garden here, but there are some times when I'm compelled to devote a post or a link or two to the election, and the truly inspiring acceptance speech last Thursday by Barack Obama is one of those exceptions. If you're one of the over 40 million people who saw it live last week, you know what I mean ... and in my opinion, it was truly the best political speech I've heard in my lifetime (if not in several generations), not to mention its historic proportions. Yes, I've heard all the major Kennedy speeches over the years (though I was but a toddler when he ran for president), and in my estimation, Obama rose to those legendary heights and then managed to go even further as he laid out his vision for his Presidency. We watched it live and we were both electrified and energized by the power of this man's vision and were left, quite simply, overwhelmed. On MSNBC that night, even Pat Buchanan (yes, that Pat) had nothing but praise for Obama and gushed on endlessly to my surprise.

Folks, if you didn't see this speech in its entirety, you owe it to yourselves to watch, no matter what your own opinions may be regarding the election. This is truly one for the ages, and will be cited in the history books one day, it's that brilliant. You can see it on YouTube here, in the unedited CSPAN high quality video from their website. This week, out of a somewhat masochistic sense of fairness, we also plan to watch the acceptance speeches of the Republican ticket, just to compare how their respective agendas play out at their convention. Then at least we can say we gave each side a fair shot at winning us over. Honestly, we're unlikely to be swayed, but we're going to try to at least approach it with an open mind. I would hope that more Americans would try to do the same, but I'm not holding my breath....

Maybe Not the Best Place to Spin a Cocoon?

Today's shot is actually from last weekend, but I've just not found a place to post it before now, with all the Mantis sightings of late ... during our labors in the Weedorium Fernymoss discovered this erstwhile caterpillar getting ready to spin her/his cocoon in a most precarious place, on the stem of one of the bindweed vines we have in the Woodland Garden. Of course he didn't have the heart to rip it out (in vain) as we usually do, but decided to get a few shots instead. I won't identify it just yet because I thought it might be fun for readers to test their skills at IDing caterpillars, so here's your chance! What do you think (s)he's going to turn into when all is said and done? Let me know in the comments....

I'm a bit concerned about the choice of this particular place, because even if we let the bindweed go, it will die in the fall and any cocoon will likely fall to the ground, but maybe that's her/his plan? Or perhaps (s)he will finish the metamorphosis before frost and wing on out before the cold weather sets in? I have to admit that as much as I love butterflies, I only have a rudimentary knowledge of their habits ... we just try to provide them with as much food and shelter as we can to keep them thriving and coming back each year. We've really been seeing a definite uptick in the number of caterpillars around the garden lately, though this one is very special to us ... there seem to be a lot of 'Wooly Bears' out and about, not to mention the one in yesterday's post, which Shady Gardener has tentatively IDed as some sort of Sphinx Moth.

And finally, for you Pepa fans out there, I'm posting a video of her prowling around yesterday as we grilled in the backyard ... just her usual survey of her domain, but she does go to the area where she discovered the nest of 3 baby bunnies last week, but no one was home, so she quickly lost interest! It's a bit longer than usual (43 seconds), but I thought Olivia would appreciate this one! Enjoy, doggie fans!