Tag Archives: nature

260.→Husband Journey: Water

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October. The deck, before the wind. …  then a strong wind from the east. Maybe Autumn has begun.   I’ve been visiting my lake. I take in the light, the air, the color, the sounds. The gift of nature soothes the most disturbed of hearts: my heart has been disturbed. It has been redefining itself, slowly accepting of my new, quieter life. I haven’t had the daily stress of caring for another individual for almost a year though I have flailed at the Universe and have been baffled and unsettled by my fate,  like the seasons, I have changed. The … Continue reading →

Angel Light

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A couple of years ago we accidentally pulled out my “mock orange” with some poison ivy. I was devastated. They are so hard to find and not available locally. But, with perseverance, I found them on-line on the Arbor Day Foundation website. It could only be shipped in September…so I ordered it and waited for months and one day it arrived, an ugly, lifeless, twig in a box. I think we planted it 2 Septembers ago and it just sat there looking like a stick in the dirt. But, look what happened this Spring! I think it will take a … Continue reading →

2c. Garden: Flowers, Bugs & Butterflies, 2020: Pupae to Transformation

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At this stage, the caterpillar would begin the next cycle on an outdoor plant. It would be prey to birds and insects and would be subject to the weather. Many do not make it to the next cycle. Some don’t even make it under our protection, but so far this season, we have made a heroic effort. We constructed a “tree”: We put twigs in a flower pot and place the caterpillar that is ready to begin its transformation here. They wander around the pot and the twigs, sometimes for hours until they find their final resting place as a … Continue reading →

2b. Garden: Flowers, Bugs & Butterflies, 2020: Pillars To Pupae

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munchkin   We’ve gone from a tiny, barely visible egg through several moltings and growth to get to the stage above. They eat and eat and literally gorge themselves on the type of leaves they were initially laid upon which we have to provide. (We try to buy organic).           And then this: After the gorging process, they cannot eat any more. The signal is expelling (not sure from which end) the last meal. The caterpillar is ready to become a pupa and to begin the final part of its journey. To be continued here

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2a. Garden: Flowers, Bugs & Butterflies, 2020: Eggs to Pillars

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This is how it begins: a black Eastern Swallowtail butterfly somehow finds you. If you have dill or parsley growing, you become its best friend.             The eggs are laid on the tiny leaves. If laid on parsley, after the eggs hatches, the young caterpillar will only eat parsley. If on dill, the same. Mama knows best. That is the first lesson.                   And on the plant on which it’s been placed, the young caterpillar will begin its eating frenzy.               … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: Garden Updates

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 Butterflies  The 7th butterfly began emerging, spontaneously and the liquid soup he was part of spilled out onto the pot. What was happening?   2.   Cactus  There is Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus and even Easter cactus; this guy thinks he’s a Halloween cactus.     3.  Snails    Sheldon and Swirl try to take the subway.  

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Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project: Transformation: #4

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  When you least expect it. The day began with mother-issues (the aide didn’t show). It took a few hours for things to resolve … Anxiety over having to get into Manhattan for a medical appointment in a predicted rain storm. The rain never came … I let Hèrmes, our “community kitty,” in for breakfast, and in passing the butterfly house, I was surprised, if not gifted with the fourth butterfly. We NEVER expected any more emerging beauties at this time of year, we anticipated having to wait until next Spring. Nature knows. Somehow. In this narrow window of opportunity … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project 2019: Transformation

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  At this point, there were seven pupae in the little tree we constructed and about a week went by. Then, one morning, this happened:   This was our first “baby.” We weren’t sure how to proceed: we ended up waiting a day to release it, it might have been the weather. The wings have to dry; this guy was ready to go and was very active. We gave it sugar water but it didn’t drink. And then the time came for the ceremony. The shortened version. It was very touching to let it go. We had done our job. … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project 2019: Part 2: Fat “Cats …”

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What you witnessed in the previous blog post was the hatching of little egg gems and the morphing into tiny barely visible creatures, which, when fed well, grew and grew into chubby green multi-legged hungry guys, with black, white and yellow markings. In short, it was amazing. Life is a series of transitions and growth: Caterpillars are programmed to transition and they adapt to each stage so well, relying on innate messages to move on with their lives. We watched this occur with eight caterpillars. The eighth one was rescued after we explained to our neighbor that it was a … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project 2019: part 1: Tiny Pearls …

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  This bright green and black fellow was noticed as we were about to pick parsley. A few years ago my over-the-fence-neighbor was lingering over his parsley and espied one of these guys, plucked it from its grasp on the little leaves, declared it a plague and dashed it to the ground. I thought it was the precursor to a monarch butterfly and my heart was crushed. My son and I did some research and learned that this was indeed going to be a butterfly: a black swallowtail. The research began and there was a lot to learn. Step-by-step we … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: iPhone Photography Series: Sheldon and Swirl, The Snail Project

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When you come fact-to-face with nature you are changed.   We didn’t go away this year for the first time. Just not able for health reasons to deal with a vacation. So what does one do? Look for an adventure. You saw my green beetle portraits, now you can visit with Sheldon and Swirl who have been living in their glass condos since June when I discovered them while gardening. I come across snails now and then but never thought to have them as guests. They are brown-lipped garden snails. They can live three to five years. iPhone XS/max Moment … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: iPhone Photography Series: The Little Green Guy Beetle Project

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When you come face to face with nature, you are changed.   I’ll begin here. We are home more. I am lucky to have a garden. I am lucky to be curious and to have maintained my sense of awe. So, I will begin here. During the summer I have been photographing interactions with little creatures. I have been amazed by the smallest things that walk or fly or crawl, eat and drink. The larger I make the images, the more amazed I am. I find them on the deck, in the soil, on a leaf. If you are squeamish, … Continue reading →

To Not Kill A Mockingbird

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I was just re-falling asleep at 2:30 am when a mockingbird started singing. And Singing. And singing. After 15 minutes of going through every tune of every other bird on earth, I began recording it. It went on for another 15+minutes then stopped. Just as I was nodding off, there it went again. Good thing I have a loud bathroom fan to provide a little white noise. It must have been enjoying my tree: What a Caruso. But why in the middle of the night, guys? Here is 15 minutes worth of calls!           .

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