See you all in a week!
Category: Uncategorized
My Sunday-Monday Post
My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
It’s official. I am in a reading slump. I don’t think it is the fault of the books – I think I am unable to concentrate right now on reading. I just can’t settle in. I am in a sort of busy frame of mind, and can’t keep still lately. And at night when I am still, I just fall asleep. Lol. Next week we will be on vacation, heading up to northern Michigan, and maybe then I can sit and relax and read – I have big plans for reading on the deck in the mornings. I’m just going to take all the books I have been trying to read with me, and see what works. If not, there is always Kindle and Amazon. And bookstores in vacation towns!
And we have air conditioning! Last week we were sweltering and then Billy spent a whole day working with his cousin, a heating and cooling guy, and they replaced our ancient A/C and furnace. Wyatt and I spent that day and night at my mom’s while Billy put in a long day. We are also getting my mom’s house to put on the market, and today Billy, my brother, my SIL, and I put in another long day working on her place, just shining it up and taking care of a few things. I feel like one more day spent there and it will be ready. She has been living at my late uncle’s condo while we do this work on her house, taking care of the kiddos along with my SIL’s mom.
I did have some success reading last week. I went back to one I picked up a few weeks ago, and this time I was able to read it a bit. Not as much as I usually read but it is a start! I barely remember it from the first time I read it, but I think I am already loving it more than the first time around.
I am just sticking with what is working and reading this one this week.
As for television, we are watching Sweet Tooth. I love it. Like, really love it. It is sad and hopeful and cute and quirky and I am just really enjoying it. Other than that, we are not watching much else. We pretty much are exhausted and conk out early. Our vacation will be so refreshing for us!
Last week my bloggie friend Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I debuted a new feature we are working on together, Hometown Views. We both are posting about places and traditions and things we would want to show each other in our hometowns, and our first post went up last Wednesday. It’s all about our libraries! I also posted about my butterfly project, and about my garden – and the green tomato cake that I made.
And that is about it from my little corner of Michigan! I hope you all are doing well!
My Sunday-Monday Post!
My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
This week was yet again another busier than I wanted week. Things should be much much better by next week – and we will have air conditioning too! Yay! Today we are camping out at my mom’s while a new furnace and a/c unit are installed – Wyatt is actually coloring with my mom right now as I type.
Read Last Week/Reading This Week:
Nothing. I was dismal at reading last week. I had so many good intentions but they went out the window sadly. I have high hopes for this week though. I am switching my plan – I think I need something not so serious and Bacchanal is sitting on my Kindle. I love this cover!
Posted Last Week:
Our Butterfly Project #4 (look for #5 this Tuesday instead of Wednesday!)
Watching:
The Tour de France, and last week I also watched Shark Week! I love shark week and I have been watching it for longer than I would care to say.
Super short post today! How are you guys doing?
Our Butterfly Project – Update #4
And we have a Monarch! Our very first chrysalis hatched on Tuesday morning. I was so excited I ran down the stairs to the basement to my husband’s office to tell him, and I asked if he wanted to come see it. He was not as excited as I was. However he did eventually come up to check it out before I let her go.
I usually start with the Black Swallowtails, but today, we are all about the Monarchs.
We had reached a point where all of our cats were in chrysalis! It was very quiet in the tanks. Then I went and checked our milkweed, and found monarch eggs!
I debated whether or not I wanted to bring them in. I was finding the idea of raising them from eggs a little intimidating, but I know that we have so many different insects in our garden that they probably were not safe – spiders, wasps, all sorts of critters. I decided to chance it, so I left them. And the next day they were gone. After that, I brought in every egg that I found. If you are interested, you peel the leaf off, and place it carefully into a plastic container that has paper towel lining the bottom. You don’t need to worry about little air holes as you will be opening it at least twice a day to check on them, and also to spritz them gently with water. If you have more leaves with eggs than you have room for, you can cut the leaves into smaller pieces. Then you wait. And eventually you will see a teensy tiny baby caterpillar. At this point, I leave them a few days in this little nursery, since they are even smaller than they are here. When they get about this size or a little bigger, I move them to their own tank with more milkweed. And then just keep feeding them and letting them grow.
We were at this stage for a few days, and then Monday night I noticed one of the chrysalis was turning dark, a sign that it was getting close to eclosing! If I had not gone to bed, I would have eventually been able to see the wings through the chrysalis. When I got up the next morning, I was rushing, running late to Wyatt’s therapy and I just glanced into the room to see if there was a butterfly hanging around, and nope not yet. However, when we got home, there was!
I gave her a few hours to pump up her wings and let her dry, then took her out to release her. She hung out for a minute before flying away. This one I named Faye.
The others went into chrysalis right after this one had, so I am expecting a flurry of butterflies pretty soon!
So, now the Black Swallowtails!
I only had a few chrysalis left at last posting, three to be exact. Since then, two more have eclosed, both males.
The first photo is the butterfly I named for my stepfather Jerry, and the second one is named DeWayne, for a blogger friend’s father. Both took off immediately when I released them. I have been tracking this actually, and every male I have had has flown off immediately. Every female has let me hold her before flying away. I wonder if this trend will continue and what it means, if anything.
And when I released DeWayne, I found two more Black Swallowtail caterpillars.
So the tally, as of Tuesday afternoon when I am writing this:
5 released Black Swallowtail, 1 released Monarch, 14 Monarch chrysalis, 1 Black Swallowtail chrysalis, 2 Black Swallowtail caterpillars, 5 Monarch tiny babies, and 3 Monarch eggs, and 2 Black Swallowtail eggs. This could change before tomorrow morning but this is my tally as it stands right now.
You can see my other updates here!
Updated July 14th, 8:45 am:
When I woke up this morning, I had one more butterfly, still coming out of it’s chrysalis. Within the hour, two more eclosed, for a total of three new Monarchs. I will share their story next week!
My Sunday-Monday Post
My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
It was a looonnnnggg week last week! We had so much going on that I had to write post-it notes to myself and leave them places so that I could remember what I needed to do and when! We did manage to sneak in some fun times though, in between all the business. My son and niece had a pool night at my in-laws house, and oh my gosh did they have fun! Wyatt is a water baby and gets so excited and has no fear. He loves to be in the pool. He is screaming and laughing like crazy in that picture of him with my brother, who he was trying to splash. The kids and dads played in the pool for a few hours and then followed it up by devouring pizza and crazy bread.
Read Last Week:
I didn’t read quite as much as I had hoped last week, although I did finish this one. I loved it! I hope to do a few quick book reviews this week.
I had wanted to start Cape Cod by William Martin but I can’t find my copy! I packed it up when we redid the office and I can’t find the box it is in. So I put a hold on it from the library and I am waiting for it to come in.
Reading This Week:
While I was going through the boxes of books, I did pull this one out. Another oldie but goodie. I just mentioned it to someone on here the other day, when we were talking about Luna Moths. Luna Moths feature in this book somehow but I don’t remember exactly how. I grabbed it to read while I am waiting for Cape Cod. I also want to finish this one.
I got about halfway through it then put it down for some reason and never picked it back up. So it is on my list to finish this week.
Posted Last Week:
<a href="http://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p></p> Currently.. July
Watching:
Not really anything new. The Tour, Death in Paradise. I am listening to different creepy podcasts and some nature ones as well. Kind of boring on this front for right now.
Currently…July
It’s that time again! I’m joining up with Anne in Residence for her monthly Currently..post. This month we are talking about what we are eating, feeling, going, ordering, and realizing!
So, on with the prompts!
Eating: Fruit, lots of fruit. Nectarines, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries mainly. Turkey burgers and salads. Tacos. BLTs and club sandwiches. Easy stuff, light stuff. It has been aggressively hot here! (at least for Michigan)
Feeling: The summer heat. Also a sense of fullness, I think. When I step outside I am struck by the growing lushness of the gardens, the buzzing of the bees, the butterflies, the fireflies. Birds are singing, neighbors are out. The world just seems so full right now. Of goodness and sunshine, family and friends.
Going: On picnics! I have no idea why, but my son loves to go on picnics. But I do too so it is all good. We have spent some lazy afternoons on the blanket under the trees, reading and snacking and drawing, with the cool breeze sweeping over the water over us, the shade from the trees protecting us from the sun. We could seriously spend hours there. We have also been revisiting some of our favorite places, like the zoo, Greenfield Village, Belle Isle in Detroit. Most weekends we have a fire at my brother’s while the kids play in the yard, getting muddy and dirty and loving every second of it.
Ordering: Iced London Fog Lattes and Iced Green Tea from Starbucks. Both are so darn good! Dresses to wear around the house and to backyard mom’s night out. Books and books and more books. I particularly recommend World of Wonders (for you) and The Big Book of Bugs (for kiddos).
Realizing: That I am a nurturer by nature. That nature has its own rhythms that we can live by. That summer is not my season but I can still find the beauty in it.
How about you all? What have you been eating, feeling, going, ordering, and realizing?
Our Butterfly Project – Update #3
As I said last week, life moves pretty fast when you are a caterpillar. I am writing this Tuesday night, and by tomorrow things could be different!
Let’s start with the Black Swallowtails. By the end of the week, they were all in chrysalis, with one poky little one. Sunday morning I got up, peeked at their enclosure, and saw a butterfly sitting there. It is so exciting to see honestly, just all of a sudden this beautiful creature pops into being.
After they eclose, you need to give them some time for their wings to dry – get their wings in order and all. Before then they are sort of floppy, fluttering wildly and going nowhere. I am giving them about three hours before releasing them and it seems to be a good amount of time. I named this first one after my Uncle who passed away in the fall from COVID. I never got to say goodbye and I whispered to this one to pass my love on to my Uncle as it winged away. I hope Arthur Blue flies high and has a good life.
Later that day our second Swallowtail eclosed. I named this one after my Aunt Barb, and released it when my mom was over. Art took off when we released him, he was ready to fly, but Barb flew a bit then landed nearby and stuck around for a while. That is her at the top.
This morning I woke up to number three, a beautiful female. I released her later in the morning, naming her Marion for my grandmother, and she sat on my hand for quite a while. They feel so light yet you can feel their little feet grabbing on. I sat with her a bit then went to set her on a flower. When I leaned over to place her down, she flew off without hesitation.
Now for the monarchs! Last week I had four hungry caterpillars. Then Thursday, my friend called me to pick up more. When I got there, she had nine for me. 9! By that point though, two of my first four were in chrysalis. And my new ones were big chunkers, so they were destined for chrysalis within a short amount of time.
I was so thrilled that I happened to be sitting at my desk when my first monarch went into chrysalis! I captured some of it on video.
When monarch caterpillars decide it is time, the wander around a bit, looking for their spot. Then they sort of are in on deck position, I call it. Just sitting there. After a bit, they fasten their little silk ending onto whatever they are attached to, then eventually go into a J-hook position. From there it is a waiting game.
These two are a little scrunchy still. They will hang all the way in a J, hanging straight down with a little hook at the end. Then the magical process begins!
So, at current count I have released three Black Swallowtails, and have three left in chrysalis. And.. I have 12 in full chrysalis, two on deck, and one still eating. Two didn’t make it, sadly. One was eaten by another caterpillar, and one for some reason just died. I am betting by tomorrow the two on decks will be in full chrysalis, and the munching muncher will be on deck at least.
If you look at the top you can see so many chrysalis! Monarchs don’t overwinter, so they will all eclose this year. Black Swallowtails, you never know, sometimes it might be next spring. We will see.
And that is where we are as of today!
My Sunday-Monday Post
My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Happy 4th of July if you celebrate! We are having a slow day today, and not really doing much. We had a pretty busy Friday and Saturday though, with a trip to the zoo, a picnic, and a fire and BBQ with my family. Today we are keeping it low key. We did go for a ride earlier today, which is something of a tradition for us on the 4th. It is usually super hot and muggy and today is no exception. Wyatt just is not great in heat so we generally keep inside, get some ice cream, and go for a ride. I’m looking forward to watching Jaws later on (another 4th of July tradition) and finishing up my book!
Read Last Week:
I have one chapter left in this book but I am seriously in love with every bit of it. It is definitely one of the best books I have read this year – it is beautiful. I have already recommended it to so many people. It’s almost a treat to read it at night, I am enjoying it so much. Nezhukumatathil has an amazing talent.
Reading This Week:
This week I am starting both of these. Cape Cod is a favorite of mine, and a big chunker so I am sure I will be reading it over the next month. And I love the Truly Devious serious so I am super excited to read it! Wyatt actually has a 48 hour EEG this week, and we will be home for the duration of it. He will be all hooked up at the hospital, then we will do the actual EEG at home, then take him back to be unhooked. So, we will be staying at home those 48 hours, probably watching tv, reading, and doing sort of easy things.
Posted Last Week:
Watching:
The Tour de France!! And pretty much nothing else, except for all creatures living in my home, my lizards and caterpillars and cats. I literally just sat and watched my first monarch caterpillar go into chrysalis and it was crazy! I managed to record some of it and I will post it in my update on Wednesday if you are interested.
And that is it from our little refuge. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
Hello July!
I can hardly believe it is July already! June was a pretty darn good month. A return to a more normal way of life, fresh strawberries from the garden, caterpillars, ice cream, lazy nights, a new favorite wine. All the little things that make up our days and make us smile.
Every July I used to reread the book Cape Cod by William Martin. It is a big chonker of a book, but I love every bit of it. I haven’t read it for a few years and I can’t get it out of my mind lately. It looks like I will be rereading it this year. We are going to the zoo this weekend, having a fire at my brother’s and then I don’t know what all else for the fourth. I do know we are going to watch Jaws, which has become a 4th of July tradition. That scene where Quint talks about the USS Indianapolis is one of the best bits of acting I have seen in a movie. It is riveting. And terrifying.
July brings us the potential for more and new adventures – we are doing a whole Italy study for the entire month of July, and it is going to be so much fun. We started on Monday, and we have already done some cute little projects! We have a “field trip” planned to a local winery – it was the only place nearby I could think of where the kids could see grapes growing for the life cycle of a grape study. But bonus for the adults. I think that we will take a picnic with us and the kids can have grape juice while the parents taste one or two of the wines being offered. I also have a few new recipes for us to try together, along with learning a bit of the language. I am still doing a bit of research about other things we can do to tie in to this unit – I am sure I will find a few more!
It is also the month of the Tour de France! Billy and I have been glued to it every night when he comes home from work – this year has been so crazy already. Some emotional wins, some terrible crashes, even a protest and an arrest! My favorite cyclist, Mikel Landa, is not part of the Tour this year as he has a broken collarbone. I hate that he has to miss out this year! I already miss seeing him pedal pedal pedal to the finish line! I am trying to find my cyclist to root for, but honestly, I have been so happy for every cyclist that has won a stage so far this race. Wyatt is even starting to enjoy watching, at least the end and all the excitement that happens in those last few minutes!
My garden is slowly filling out and growing – this cycle of rain and hot weather seems to be good for it. Not as much for me, but the plants seem happy. I love going outside and just looking at how pretty it is all looking! I ended up planting way more flowers than vegetables this year. I guess that is what my soul needed this year. I desperately need to get outside and do something with my tomatoes though. I can’t find any tomato cages and my plants have become a big jungle! I hope that they are salvageable, the tomatoes look amazing already. I had been so proactive, pulling off the suckers, removing the shoots from the bottom – then bam, it is a giant mess. This is a view from my front window. This cute little squirrel showed up for breakfast the other day, plopping himself among the yarrow and lavender and raspberries. And can I just say how much I am loving yarrow these days? I never planted it before and I am in love with it.
I do have some other low key projects planned for the month and the weekend, but mostly I hope to do a lot of slowing down.
What about you all? Any plans for the holiday weekend?
Iced Tea Afternoons
Hoo boy has it been hot and sticky around here. My least favorite weather. Wyatt and I have been hiding inside as much as possible, in our sluggish air conditioning (but hey at least it is still working, although having a bit of a struggle..) for the most part. Neither of us do well in the heat – we just wilt and whine. I start guzzling the iced tea about noon, and he is getting more screen time than normal, and frankly, I am ok with it for right now. It seems like this is what is happening in every household around us though, the street is eerily quiet. No one is out and about. Pretty sure Dash is the only one in this house enjoying this weather.
We did do some stuff over the weekend though!
On Sunday afternoon we hopped in our car and headed off to Jurassic Quest, a drive-thru dinosaur event. I bought the tickets a few months ago, not knowing what kind of summer we were going to have. I figured we would start out easy, with a car based experience. Thank goodness, since it was a billion degrees outside. Since we were going like five miles an hour and my brother was the driver of the car behind us, I allowed Wyatt to sit on my lap rather in his seat, and held onto him like he was going to fly out the window at any second.
From an adult perspective, it was a wee bit lackluster. However, I guess for six year olds it was cool. Wyatt was waving and saying hi to all the dinos as we drove by. They did have an audio as well, that hooked up to the car radio that told about the period of dinosaur and a bit about it, so that was pretty neat.
Afterwards we parked in the lot and hung out with my brother and his family a bit. The kids enjoyed playing in the back of the Outback, and we joked that had this been the 1980s we probably could have all driven there in one car and just let the kids roll around in the back, without seats or seatbelts. I distinctly remember a trip to Pennsylvania for a family reunion one year and my cousin and I in the way way back, laying down in the back part of a station wagon. On the turnpike.
The kids compared loot from their souvenir bags that we pre-ordered with the tickets and Wyatt gave Dino Girl a little leather bracelet that he had made for her with Billy. It was super cute. Overall, it was fun to get out and do something, plus the kids had fun, and that is what matters!
The rest of the weekend it actually rained, so I feel like we lucked out in timing for the event. No rain!
I hope you are all enjoying the day wherever you are today!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 