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!

Friday Fence Post #3

Wow, is it Friday again already? This month is flying by! It is time for my weekly fence picture, so without further ado, here it is--

Confession: I was really photographing this gnarled old tree and just happened to get this mossy fence in the background, but it IS a fence after all, so it qualifies! :)

The entire middle has died out of this tree, leaving two shells which are still alive and prolific with leaves!

How old do you suppose this tree is? It lives in Colonial Williamsburg, so my guess is that may be a couple hundred years old. What do you think?

Come join our fence post fun!

Friday Fence Post #2

Here's another gem of a fence from Colonial Williamsburg. I love this gate, so pretty and unique!

Come join the fence post fun-

The Luna Moth Chronicles: Hope

We have one pupa left, Clover. Over the last two weeks I have been concerned that Clover may be dead. I could not get him to respond despite my prodding. The pupal case has darkened, become dull instead of glossy, and isn't as firm as it once was. It would even leave indentations where I touched it.

Clover's back

As I debated whether to bury him alongside of Corvella, I miraculously discovered he is alive after all! He suddenly began moving again. 

Clover's underside (belly)

You can clearly see his wings through the case, which has become paper thin. Look in the broad, lighter colored area between the white marks and his face (on the right end of the case). There is a stripe running width-wise.

My fear is that Clover will hatch early also, like Corvella. Today I lined the bird cage with fine mesh screening and removed the lid to his container. I placed branches in the cage for him to hang from to dry his wings. I am prepared now, thanks to the tragedy. 

I am super paranoid now and check the cage constantly. Hopefully I won't have anything to report until spring. If he's going to emerge, it will happen soon since Clover pupated a day after Corvella. It seems they're on the same schedule, but I really really really hope not in this instance. Wish Clover luck!

Wordless Wednesday: Woodland Glamour

You know this is never truly "wordless" since I always have some little blurb I can't help but say. I'm in an Etsy treasury along with this gorgeous dress by ReinventEloise of Dartmoor. I love the autumn colors and the ethereal, woodland feel to this photo!