The Monarch Caterpillar

My mom is a retired first grade teacher. Every year, she would do a unit with her class about how the Monarch Caterpillars turn into Butterflies.  We were trained from a young age to spot the monarch caterpillars in a patch of milkweed.  I have many fond memories of playing in the milkweed patch with my sisters and cousins, who lived across the street from my grandmother's house.  I grew up in rural Maine and my grandmother's house had lots of little trails and fields out back with a healthy milkweed patch.  As a little girl, I loved to pull the dried milkweed pods apart and feel the milkweed silk with the seeds.  We would pretend that we were princesses and the silk was part of our treasure.  Now as an adult, the true treasure is the wonderful childhood memories.

The tradition continues now with my children.  We went to Maine last week and saw my folks.  While my husband and I sought out our own adventures, my parents took my kids out looking for caterpillars.  When my husband and I went to pick up our little ones, Dave, my 5-year-old could not wait to tell me about the caterpillars he had found with Grammy and Big Guy.  We have 3 little caterpillars that were only a few millimeters long when we got them.  They eat a lot of milkweed and are getting bigger everyday.  We anxiously wait for each of them to form a Chrysalis in preparation for the Butterfly Transformation.  Time to add The Very Hungry Caterpillar to our bedtime reading list!  Stay tuned ...

Harvesting Herbs

Every year I plant herbs in my flower garden with the good intention of drying them to use year round. This is the 6th summer we have been at our house, and I finally remembered to cut some herbs to dry. I cut oregano, parsley, sage, and basil.


I could not find the jute cord to wrap them in, so I used strips of fabric from my scraps stash. They are quite pretty. The sage looks like a Christmas decoration with the red fabric.
The dill I had planted was past its prime, but it did have a surprise for me. There was a monarch caterpillar sunning himself on the plant. You can get a glimpse of him in the picture below. I hope that I remember to see if chooses my garden as his home for making a chrysalis.