Skip to main content

A Butterfly Birthday

To celebrate my birthday yesterday we went to Milwaukee and visited the butterfly museum, among other places. How enchanting to sit in a large room and have large unusual butterflies flying all around you, even landing on you! A video:
Some butterfly photos:





In addition to yesterday's trip, we spent Monday and Tuesday doing nature-related things for my birthday. On Tuesday we went biking through a state park. So relaxing to be able to bike on the paths, not worry about cars, and take in all the breathtaking scenery.  It was abundant with birds, butterflies, and frogs. My favorite part was a section I called the "sea of gold":



Monday we went apple picking (some pictures of the apples and what they're made into coming later), and then hiking/picnic in a portion of land owned by the nature conservancy. It was full of migrating Monarchs, feeding on the abundant milkweed:


 Anyone know what caused this? It is bark, not any kind of nest.
 A pretty thistle:
 and a hint of Autumn:

It was such a perfect birthday week!

Comments

  1. SissySeptember 18, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    Happy Birthday! What a wonderful way to spend your day. Best wishes for another happy and healthy year!
    I am surrounded by the "sea of gold", here in my neighborhood. It is incredible, the gold color in the fields!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2011 at 8:20 PM

    Now that's just my kind of walk, I love a field full of goldenrod and all the other wildflowers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SherrySeptember 20, 2011 at 9:57 PM

    Thank you! I knew it had to be something other than ragweed, because I was fine biking/walking through it, and would have been swollen up like a balloon otherwise. The gold in all the fields is so prominent this year - maybe more than usual. I was on the Metra the other day and noticed it as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mary's Toad Lilies

All summer the rock garden was full of Lily stalks that didn't bloom. I knew they were some kind of Lily due to the leaf structure. There must be 30-40 stalks. I've looked at them carefully numerous times, and last time I examined them I thought maybe Cala lilies, that would bloom later in the summer. Didn't happen. I saw some budding on them a few weeks ago, and then forgot about them being so busy the last few weeks. It's been raining all day here, and I saw that the bird feeder we had wedged between some of the rocks in the rock garden fell. It's not a permanent solution, and it fell once before. We're going to have cement it or use a base pole to secure it for Spring. I went out to pick it up, and was greeted by lots and lots of blooming Toad Lilies! What a surprise. These inherited gardens keep constantly surprising me. I've been through a full year's cycle now, and thought I'd seen everything. I don't remember these last year at this time.
13 comments
Read more

Autumn Wine

Having inherited several Sedum plants, I watched them with mild interest all summer. I was pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous display they have blessed us with this fall. They are autumn wine flowers. In August they were a light Chablis color, and then they deepened into a Rose, then a Merlot, and now turning a deep Burgundy. I've marveled at the variety of bees and butterflies that take great interest in them daily. It's like they are an oasis, or Port, where there are no boundaries between species - bumble bee is there drinking along with the honeybee, and all kinds of butterflies landing. I suppose everyone appreciates great wine. I know I have appreciated these Sedum. I do not know if they are "Autumn Joy", "Autumn Fire" or some other variety. Anyone know the best way to tell? They are on relatively short stalks. Here they are part of the front bed tapestry - Moondance Rose, Russian Sage, Butterfly Bush, and the Sedum. 
8 comments
Read more

Cornhusk Wreath

I made the cornhusk wreath featured on the Martha Stewart show last November. The steps involve dyeing the cornhusks (you can buy tamale cornhusks in your local grocery store), then separating them into strips while they are still damp, and pinning them to a straw wreath. Finish it with a thick satin ribbon. I chose apple green dye, so I can have it on the front door year-round. Closeup of the ribbon: I'm so happy with the results. To make your own, here is a link to the directions .
10 comments
Read more