All the Dirt on Gardening

Last week I posted a photo of the Monarch butterfly chrysalis that was attached to a succulent. Before that 28-degree night the succulent was moved into the shed, in filtered light. We took a 10 day trip and the day after we returned, the chrysalis had become clear. We could see the butterfly fully formed inside. Like worried grandparents we hoped it could be born despite the unusual circumstances. The next day, here it is, drying its wings on the succulent. I moved it so it could hang out on a yellow milkweed. I had brought the blooming milkweed inside so the butterfly would have some nectar if it hatched. After a few hours, I put it outside in the sun. There was still time to fly south to Texas and make the trip to Mexico. Sadly, she decided to stay here. Yesterday afternoon when I went out to the shed to pot up lettuce seedlings, there she was, hanging onto the (also stored in the shed for the winter) split leaf philodendron. Now, it's probably going to be too cold for her to m...

At 6:30 this morning I had the privilege of watching a Monarch butterfly emerging from the chrysalis . It sat there for a couple of hours while I watered and weeded the flower bed. The papery object on the fence just below and to the right of the butterfly is the empty chrysalis . When it was ready to move, it walked up the fence and then began fanning its wings to dry them before taking flight. While the Monarch caterpillars only hang out on milkweeds the adults like the nectar of the perennial sweet pea in that flower bed.