From caterpillar to chrysalis...the Monarch transforms

This was amazing to witness...one of the Monarch caterpillars I found last week transformed into its chrysalis. This one started by attaching himself (or herself!) to the ceiling and hanging down in a "J". They call it J-hooking. He hung like that for a while, but I just happened to be there when he started wiggling around and I knew he was getting ready to transform.

Here you can see his antennae getting droopy. He squishes himself together and then extends himself (1st and 2nd pics) for a bunch of times...

...then finally his old skin splits open on his back and the green chrysalis emerges.

Here he is, almost free of his old skin.

He continues to wiggle - not sure what he is accomplishing, but in the end...

...he looks like this. His buddy is in the background, getting ready to do the same thing!
It's hard to see it in this picture, but that line of black on the chrysalis also has a thin line of gold next to it. Beatiful!

What a miracle!

Goin' Fishin'

A beautiful Saturday morning was just begging for a little outing to the lake. So off we went, mom and the boys. Logan was the first one to catch a fish! ...after mom cast for him. Trevin caught 2 and mom caught 2 (one a nice-sized catfish we gave to our fishing neighbors...because I didn't want to take it off the hook!).

It's Monarch time!!!!

Well we found 2 Monarch caterpillars and 3 eggs today on some bindweed near downtown. All those people driving by at 70 mph have no idea what's going on just yards from them. Nature's beauty!!! I can't wait to see the beautiful chrysalis these guys make. Soft green with gold dots on them! Stay tuned for the next stage. :-)

See that tiny white dot on the leaf? That's how a Monarch butterfly starts its life.

Nature's Bounty

Here's a glimpse at what I've been doing with some of the tomatoes growing profusely in our garden. (I CAN grow something.) These are the fixings for a batch of spaghetti sauce made with roma tomatoes. It made 4 pints and I canned them for later use. All the cans successfully sealed! Wow, all the work makes me appreciate the canning mom used to do for us at home! There is nothing like homegrown food!
Thanks, Mom!

First Day of School!!!!!

Trevin is ready for school!

The boys and their backpacks.

Mom and the boys

The bus is here!!!!!!!!

Logan is NOT happy that he can't go with brother!

Back home again...
Brother is glad to see him again!
Sharing an after-school treat

Trip to Hutchinson

Corey had a business trip to Hutchinson and I have relatives there, so we all tagged along. It was fun to spend a few days there in a hotel. It was hot! Here's a sign showing just how hot it was...in the shade, too. :-)

Here's an old Santa Fe caboose at the railyard where Corey was working.

There were LOTS of grain elevators in Hutch. Here's the longest one we saw.

Logan, Austin (both 2) , Trevin, Ethan (both 5) - a fun time with cousins!

...and Haley - practicing her walking!


Having fun at the water park.


...and sacked out after a very long day of playing!

We visited the zoo the next day. Here are the little prairie dogs. :-)


And here they are coming out of their tunnel.


So this is where we get milk?

The butterflies are getting ready to fly!

Well one morning we woke up and checked the butterfly house and there were 6 butterflies that had come out of their chrysalis. We didn't get to watch the actual process, but it must have just happened because their wings were still curled up and limp. Here are a few pictures showing the Black Swallowtails getting ready to fly.

Here's a good shot of the Black Swallowtail chrysalis. It shows the variety of colors that they can be. The dark brown ones look like sticks!