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Monarch Farewell
Mike Monarch turned out to be Michelle, given the absence of black spots on the wings. She hatched today while we were out; we returned home to find her flapping impatiently in her…
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This year’s kitchen counter miracle
*Video music: Liz Story, “Welcome Home,” from the cd Welcome Home: The Best of Liz Story.
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Monarch Madness: Summing Up
We first started looking for monarch caterpillars in early August. I’ve posted on our experience as it has unfolded, and as the adventure draws to a close I want to sum up and…
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“Watching Peeper”: A 10-year-old’s nature journal
I don’t often post my daughters’ work online, for various reasons. But I’m making an exception for my 10-year-old’s “Watching Peeper” journal pages about her monarch caterpillar. As you can see, she enjoys…
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Nature Notes: Mystery Solved
Caractacus the mystery caterpillar has revealed his true identity at last. As a caterpillar, he puzzled us by varying the usual coloration of a monarch: But in every other respect he acted like…
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Flood Pics
Everything is shut down today, we’re boiling water, and waiting to see the final verdict on the damage. Lots of folks are at evacuation centers. We are very fortunate to have a house…
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Chrysalis Formation
I took some video of a monarch caterpillar’s chrysalis forming today. The caterpillar had spun its silk button and attached itself to the underside of a milkweed leaf — not the ideal spot,…
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Read Aloud Thursday: It’s a Butterfly’s Life
Believe it or not, we’ve been reading The Burgess Bird Book faithfully every day since I posted on it on July 28. We’ve also made a few forays into others works as well,…
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Metamorphoses
We started school yesterday. We layered in a few subjects and “met” the books for the others. Then today, we layered in the rest. I’m struck by how much our concept of “school”…
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Butterfly Farm
The last few weeks have seen several posts here about monarch butterflies. I wrote about our unsuccessful search for monarchs in Milkweed Adventures. Then I followed it up with Monarch Musings, about the…