Friday Fence Post #5

My friend and I went antiquing, walking along the quaint streets of a little town. Of course I had my camera, and of course I was on the lookout for cool architecture and fences!

Such a pity this house is so run down. It would be gorgeous all fixed up.

Sometimes I have romantic notions of restoring an old house but I think I would get frustrated if I lived there during the renovations. I don't like things being out of place and undone. But I love the history of older homes and the wonderful details that are missing from most of today's homes.

Maybe one day someone will give this house the TLC it needs. Can't you just imagine sipping a mint julep on the porch on a warm summer day? :)

Friday Fence Post #4

There really is a fence under all that snow! This was my backyard a month ago. The snow was pretty but I'm glad it's gone...I'm so ready for spring to be here!

Come join our fence post fun!

Garden Resolutions

Each year in the dead of winter I get inspired to garden, and of course, I can't since it's too early! Sometimes I can barely wait and start seedlings, only to have them grow too leggy before I can get them transplanted into the garden. Then when I try to hold off and wait, I forget and start them too late. What's a gardener to do?!

Here are my garden resolutions for this coming season:

-To get my seedlings started at the right time
-Grow more veggies and herbs
-Try doing more container gardening (since my plants get fried come May when the temperatures soar into the 80s)
-Remember to water and fertilize

I didn't do any of that last year and I had a pretty sad looking garden. It was just too hot to spend much time in the garden. I'm hoping my trees I planted this fall grow quickly so I can have some much needed shade!

What hopes or resolutions for change do you have for your garden?

Wordless Wednesday

Snowing!

A little bird came swooping by me and flew into "The Snow Cave". All the wax myrtles are weighed down with snow and are touching the ground in places. It reminds me of the magical scene in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe where Lucy discovers the snowy woodlands in the back of the wardrobe.

We are getting dumped on (at least for our zone 7b area)! Accumulation at present is 6 inches. That is A LOT for us; we usually don't get more than an inch. The falling snowflakes are getting bigger as the afternoon goes on! Yikes!

Christmas Images

A bowl of vintage ornaments in an antique shop.

So unusual for us to get snow at all, and this much of it!

I was drawn to these fun pom-poms at a local home decor shop. I didn't buy any, but I took about 17 photos of them!

More from the antique shop.

My mantle of wax myrtle branches with their lovely greyish-purple berries.

Waiting for spring.

Merry Christmas!

The Luna Moth Chronicles: The Final Chapter

Our last cocoon hatched early, despite my hopes for it to overwinter. This time, however, I was ready!

This is Clover, who is a male Luna moth. He emerged from his cocoon after being in the pupal stage for 7 weeks. We had warm weather at the time and I wonder if he emerged too early?

Sadly, Clover's wings were deformed. The lower wings were nothing but little grey stubs, and his upper wings never fully expanded. His sister, who emerged a week ago had fully developed wings. Clover had a little spell during his 4th instar where he got sick and we thought we might lose him...I wonder if that affected his wing development?

Isn't he sweet? Okay, maybe a face only a mother could love!

Clover, crawling on my son's hand. Clover had a weird "bubble" on his wing (on the right), which burst and sprayed green blood (?) on the floor. He didn't seem to be bothered by that incident and kept right on crawling.

We had to keep him indoors since the weather turned cold again. I kept him in the bathroom with the door shut, trying to keep the humidity levels higher for him. The dry heat in the house caused his sister Corvella to dry out.

Back view

Clover was with us for 6 days. The lifespan of an adult Luna moth is a week, so even with his deformities he lived a full life! Note the difference in his wide, feathery antennae from his sister, Corvella's, which were much narrower.

Front (belly) view

Clover was buried under a rock, next to Corvella, and his other caterpillar siblings.

It's hard to believe my Luna Moth Chronicles are over after three months of caring for these guys. It was an awesome experience to watch the life cycle of this gorgeous creature, from egg to adult moth. I'm saddened by the thought that they didn't get to fly off and mate to complete their life cycle.

Considering they would have never hatched from their eggs if I hadn't rescued them from the beetles I suppose they had a good life, filled with yummy sweet gum leaves and sticks to climb!