Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A Butterfly is Born
Back in June I posted some pictures of a Black Swallowtail Chrysalis. Well, I am happy to report that yes, indeed a butterfly was born! It was fun to actually see all the stages and witness the metamorphism. I was starting to think that the butterfly would never hatch. I had researched and found that it would take about 10 days. Well, ten days came and went and then another four or five, I started losing count. Then one evening I heard something rattling. It was the butterfly! Although we missed the actual event of it emerging from the chrysalis, it was here! Yay! I didn't kill it, which I was beginning to wonder.
We watched it for awhile before setting it free. That was the hard part, setting it free. Although that was the right thing to do, I had become attached to it, carefully nurturing the caterpillar and chrysalis so it would turn into the beautiful creature it was destine to become. Talk about beautiful, that it was. The picture I took doesn't do it justice at all. I only had a few seconds to capture it before it decided to take flight.
Since then, I have seen countless Swallowtails and Monarchs and other butterflies, but have yet to see another Black Swallowtail. Stay tuned I am nurturing another caterpillar which might turn into a Privet Hawk Moth if I successfully identified the caterpillar. I also have several butterfly pictures and other interesting insects I have captured in my lovely backyard habitat.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Stage 3: The Pupa
However, it was a lot harder than I thought. I had to tug at the silk thread it was hanging from and not squeez it at the same time. Oh, and also being careful to not drop it either! I quickly glued the tiny silk string to a piece of wood and let it hang. At first it kept swinging back and forth rather fast as if it was telling me it wasn't too happy with being relocated before it finally stopped.
At this point I am not sure if it will make it to Stage 4: The Adult Butterfly. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. Here are a couple of pictures of the pupa.
Stay tuned to see if it will emerge into the lovely Black Swallowtail or not.
P.S. Be sure to click on the picture if you want to see a close up view!
View #1
View #2
Monday, June 8, 2009
Garden Surprise
We are super excited. Well, me mostly! Today, when I went to check up on them, a few of the little ones were "gone". So tonight, I rescued 4 tiny ones, to ensure the ants or wasps don't have a snack!
Be sure to check back for updates on their progress. The next stage is the pupa or also known as the chrysalis---the "transition stage".
Below is a picture of the largest caterpillar I found and also a stock photo of the butterfly it will soon be.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Butterfly Season
I was really interested in being able to track the Monarch Metamorphosis in my own yard. Alex too, has been very interested and I thought this would be the perfect project for the both of us. We recently bought the milkweed plant. This plant is the plant of choice for the Monarch butterfly, and they only lay their eggs exclusively on these leaves.
Last week we discovered we had 10 butterfly eggs! I quickly took a picture so we could track the progress. Today, I went to show a friend who stopped by, and I discovered that most of them have already hatched. So again, grabbed my camera to get another picture of the next stage: the Caterpillar.
I have enjoyed discovering some very interesting facts about these beautiful insects while preparing for this project. Stay tuned as I will update the progress of our caterpillars as they grow and prepare for their next stage: the Chrysalis!
P.S. Click on the pictures to open in a larger window.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Nice Surprise
Anyone that knows me knows that a couple of weeks ago I had to get a tree cut down from our property. This was not an old scrappy tree, this was a beautiful Oak tree--mature. We estimated that is was at least 50+years! The tree had two trunks to it and two years ago one of them came down in one of the worst spring storms of 2007. The remaining trunk of the tree was still beautiful and really no one would have ever known that it had previously had another trunk.
The Oak tree was beautiful. The problem was that it was too close to the house, like inches away and most of it hovered over the roof. Being that the root system was already compromised (even though no one could tell) it really was a matter of time before it too was a victim of a Spring storm. Rather than take our chances we had the tree removed. Although this was what needed to be done, I was heart broken. I would have much rather it been a Cedar tree than my beautiful Oak.
Well, today I had a nice surprise. It even moved me to tears. My neighbor came over and presented me with a weed pot. He had salvaged a few pieces of the wood from my Oak tree and from one of the pieces made this beautiful little pot. It is beautiful, just like my tree was. I was definitely surprised. What a thoughtful gesture for him to make. As you can see from the pictures below, the pot is beautiful. It is truly a blessing that someone would take their time and do something like that for others. I told you I had good neighbors!
What would the world be like today, if more of us would do the same? I challenge anyone who reads this to think of something (does not have to be big or expensive) to do for someone unexpected, from the heart just like my neighbor did. I promise you it will make their day in more ways than one.
Monday, April 13, 2009
First rose in TEN YEARS!!!!!!!
Okay, so this is not the prettiest rose picture, but it is super special. This rose bush was already here when we moved to
Well, I am super exited to say that this year has proved to be different. A few weeks ago, I noticed a lot more green leaves than usual and have been watching it with much anticipation. Then all of a sudden there were tons of buds all over and I mean TONS! Wow, I could not believe it. Now I wondered if these buds would actually bloom. Well, I am pleased to announce the first one bloomed. I can't believe it. I quickly got my camera and took a picture before leaving out of town. It was super sunny, definitely not the best time, but I was headed out of town and did not want to chance it not being there when I got back. Now, all of the other buds are starting to bloom too. I am so glad I did not chop and dig her up out of the ground! Also, be sure to check back. I have lots of pictures to post from my recent visit to Austin.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mountain Clouds
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Exotic birds of Honduras
After watching the Toucans fly around, we left the butterfly area and proceeded to the bird area. We saw some more beautiful birds, Parrots and Macaws to name a few. The colors of the birds were simply amazing. (God is an awesome Creator!) One of the birds loved picking at Brad's hat and backpack as he was walking around the area.
More pictures from our vacation to come. Check back soon!
Alex being very still while the bird sits on his arm. At least the bird did not "pee" on him like the monkeys did in Costa Maya---stay tuned, that story to come later.
This bird just loved Brad's hat!
Now he wants the backpack! He wasn't "picking" on anyone else, just Brad!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Sticky Pecan Caramel Rolls
Rising
All done!
Yummy!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Artisan Bread
Day One, you mix the ingredients, let it rise for 2 hours and then place it in the fridge. (No, JRS, this is not Friendship Bread!) The next day you are ready to make your bread. Take out the dough and pull off how much you need, say the size of a large grapefruit or cantaloupe size for one loaf. Give it a gluten cloak and shape (this is the part that only takes five minutes) and then let it rise 40 minutes. After that, you are ready to bake it, which takes about 30 minutes. Plain and simple. Simple is that, the only time really spent is shaping the dough and you basically leave it alone after that. No kneading required!
Well, I must say the the bread is delicious! It also looks pretty too! BTW, the book is full of all all sorts of recipes of different types of bread you can make with this method. Peasant loaves, Beignets, Flat bread, Calzones, Stromboli, Pita and Sticky Pecan Carmel Rolls to name a few.
Here is the recipe for the Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf) that I made:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt (don't use table salt)
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose flour, measured with the scoop and sweep method
Cornmeal (to put on the stone to prevent sticking)
Mix together the lukewarm water and yeast. Then add the salt and flour, mix so there is no dry flour. Let it rise for 2 hours, then place in fridge to use next day. You can use it immediately, but the dough is much sticker than if you waited.
On baking day, get the amount of dough you need, let it rise for 40 minutes, then bake for 30 minutes at 450. If you want to make it pretty--sprinkle flour on the bread after it has risen and on a serrated knife. Then make a pretty design buy cutting the dough a few times across in a pattern like tic tac toe or freehand.
Here are a few pictures of a few loaves that I made earlier today.
Rising loaves
Rising loaves
Scored the bread right before baking
All done!
Beautiful Artisan Bread!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Yummy Cookies!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
My Dad the Artisan
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Good Morning "B" Family
No, that was not the voice of Ty from Extreme Home
Makeover greeting us the other morning.
It was a TARANTULA!!!! In my kitchen!!!! Oh MY!!!
Thank goodness I don't get too freaked out of spiders but this was more than I expected. How did he get in the house? This is the second time we have spotted one in the house. The other time was about a 1 1/2 years ago in the bathroom.
We quickly got him out of the house and then I went into a picture frenzy. Of course I had to take a picture for all y'all to see. I took many pictures and at one point was holding a broom while he was crawling on it toward me. That is until my six year old came out and said, you know, he can jump 3 feet. REALLY, 3 FEET???? Mind you at this moment the tarantula was about an arms length away from me as I had him dangling on the broom in the air. Not sure if that statement was true or not and really did not want to wait and see, I quickly put him down and stepped back, way back!
What a way to start off the day.
I did not think much of it as the day passed, until I was laying in bed. While my head lay comfortably on the pillow, I began to wander if he had any friends and if so where were they lurking? I said a little prayer and tried to fall asleep ASAP!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Austin Visit
Friday, October 24, 2008
Fun at the Zoo!
We had a wonderful time. There were baby giraffes and baby lion cubs! My favorite were the lion cubs--they were so adorable. Only problem was they had their backs to us so I didn't get a good picture.
Here are a few pictures (out of the 300+) that turned out half way decent. A big thanks to Tracy and all the kiddos for putting up with all my picture taking!
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Boys will be boys!