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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

BUTTERFLY EGGS AGAIN, OVERGROWN FERN & HUNGRY MR. CARDINAL

Right now, we're having a really good rain storm, again.  The sound of rumbling thunder sounds so good to me because of the horrible drout we've been in for several years.  Thank you, thank you for the rain!!


And, new butterfly eggs on my fennel.  There was only one large caterpillar left on the fennel, today, and I'm hoping the other ones scurried off to start becoming beautiful butterflies.  I've seen them leaving their host plant before, and they move really, really fast.  I followed one, one time, and it got under a clump of vines on a porch post and got very still.  I, finally,  stopped watching and when I went back to find it, it was very well camouflaged and I couldn't see it.


Can you grow ferns like this?  Normally, this fern freezes back in the winter and it didn't this year, so it's way, way overgrown.  It's really crowding my walk.  So, this weekend, I'm going to cut off all of the lower fronds and just leave the top.  I have it in that spot to hide my pond pump.
And, see green Mr. Cardinal.  My camera was on the wrong setting and I didn't know it.  But, when he saw me in the kitchen window, he came right up to the window and hopped back and forth on the trellis.  He was trying to get my attention because I always give him sunflower seeds.  When I went outside, he got in the tree just above my head and was chirping at me.  I gave him sunflower seeds.

6 comments:

  1. Do you know what cultivar the fern is? Can you divide it?

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  2. Hi, I've had it for years and I believe it is a boston fern. Yes, you can divide it, but I don't need another fern and this one is way too big, right now. And, it gets so hot in the summertime, that I dread having to water pot plants. It is a very hardy fern with all the humidity here.

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  3. I hope you get butterflies from this batch of eggs. I'm glad you followed a caterpillar at one time and can say they move fast - so maybe they do stand a chance.

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    1. This is the third time and the second time, there were 5 very large caterpillars and I think they survived. I'll see in a few days. It's fun, though, to watch.

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  4. I would not have known what butterfly eggs look like. I am glad that you knew and didn't pick them off. That is why I like to leave things in my garden until I am 100% sure that it is not something that I want. I do not know enough about gardening yet, but I am learning!

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    1. The butterfly eggs are so tiny, you would never see them unless you were looking for them. Then, the newly hatched baby caterpillars are so tiny, that you wouldn't know they were there, either, unless you were looking for them. I know you will love learning about your gardening.

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