Spring Not Far Off

As the month clicks away on the calendar, I am still up to my eyeballs in Monarchs.  Making sure there is food enough to feed them is a daily ritual.  Cleaning the terrarium with this much usage also becomes a necessary chore.  Its good I have that distraction to take my mind off one of the worst months I have ever had in business here, as I am still wondering when we'll bring in enough proceeds from the hordes of folks in town to cover extravagances like rent.  Hordes? -LOL, as they say on Facebook.  Or, and "damhikt", perhaps the throngs are just carying out their innocent "ifuee", (Don't worry those are not off-color, you just have to know your web lingo!

Thanks to the History Museum's offer of a small supply of Butterfly Weed from their Butterfly Garden, I have been provided with enough food to feed them.  Cleaning is done depending on the condition of the container. The lid has to be carefully lifted off as now Caterpillars are attaching their Chrysalis to that section also.  Bruce has to assist.  I lift all the plants out with their Caterpillars still clinging to them, remove dead leaf debris and bare stems, wash the containers, refilling with fresh water, then replace the plants with the still eating caterpillars.  I remove the paper towel flooring, clean that area, and replace.  I reassemble as quickly as possible (it all takes about 5 minutes) because Bruce is standing in the wings holding onto the precious cargo.  But the reward is to sit at my desk and watch this kind of miracle unfold right before my eyes.  This one's image was captured just seconds after bursting out of its Chrysalis; it now waits on that big fat body to pump the fluid inside into the wings to inflate them.  A lot like pumping up a bicycle tire.
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The wings quickly expand, in a matter of minutes.  Then it hangs in place for a couple of hours, I let them decide when they are ready by watching to see when they start moving away from the empty Chrysalis.  When that happens I carefully put my finger in front of them and they climb on board and are ready for transporting outside.  Usually they will just hang on their new plant perch for a while before heading up into the sky and away.


I have had one Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar and he seems to have done alright except that it seems it has taken a very long time for him to grow into any size.  I am not sure if this is normal or something lacking in his food source that may have interfered with his development.  I have kept it in a separate holding tank.  It only eats Passion Flower.


Even though the Monarch does not change colors it does shed all or parts of its skin during growing.  It then eats the skin as this fellow is doing.  Because I wasn't seeing the skin fall away I wasn't aware of this changing until Lisa pointed it out to me.  I keep learning things as I go along, as with all of life.


Looking like a brilliant stained glass window, this one catches the backlight from the morning sun.  They seem to like the small trumpet-like blossoms of the Rosemary plants, so I usually set them on it; so if they want a snack before hitting the road it is readily available.


Another girl's day out with Adrian catching her first big fish.  I have learned from her also that it is better to handle the inside of that mouth with a rag to prevent the blood loss I was having from each fishing trip as I reached in to remove the hooks.  The smell of human blood on the bait may have been more enticing to the fish in the creek but the sore fingers for days afterward was something it will be nice to avoid.  An artist must protect the tools of her trade.


Its twins!!!  It was fun to get up to check the terrarium, and see that we had two, a boy and a girl.  This gives a good chance to show the difference in the sexes.  The top one is a male with the thin black lines and the black dot on the back wing which interrupts the middle line.  It looks like someone tried to erase a spot on the hard black like with a dirty eraser.  The bottom is a female, with her thicker black lines and NO thick spot on her back wing lines.  Next time you can tell the difference too.  In the beginning we had mostly males but now the numbers have shifted and it seems that most are females.


The twins I freed by setting them on the New Zealand Tea Tree which is one of my favorite plants.  It blooms all winter.  They are difficult to get to grow but once established are very hardy.  Very pretty small blossoms which can vary with the different plants from a softer pink to a dark burgundy bloom.


I told you that the color would dramatically change on my Sumac.  I just love the brilliance and the way the low winter sun makes it glow as it changes from yellow green to vibrant orange-red.


As I sit at my desk this is the view, and the bright spots of color give me a nice break in the dark greens of the Oaks and brighter green of my shrubbery and the hanging gray Spanish Moss.  It does literally glow when the sun gets on the other side of it just like the butterflies wings did.


Another evening when I take the time to catch the Marsh sunset.  The colors are possibly slightly exaggerated by the camera in the intensity of the blue in the sky but doesn't it give a great contrast to the yellow and orange of the sunset itself?


It's hard to decide in such a scene whether it needs a tighter view, giving the pretty cloud effect, or the wider angled total picture.  I thought I'd just give you both and you can chose your favorite.  It seems like the "Mare's Tail" formations have been most prevalent lately, probably because we have not had the big rain containing clouds, which we need.


One of my overnighters had made it to the window and seemed to be gazing longingly at the world outside.  Her daydreams were soon fulfilled as the sun quickly warmed that outside world up enough for me to feel better about turning her loose.


I took the opportunity to take one of the not so clear photos of this scene and play with it with the new tools on my Picassa.  Usually I don't do that but this can give me some good ideas for a painting as my mind is shifting to wanting to do a big butterfly painting.


Well it looks like our thorny looking Gulf Fritillary is entering another stage in the transforming life of a butterfly.


On Sunday morning I had another set of twins waiting.  One a few minutes ahead of the other.  That is fun, and since I have the day off to fool with them, I can move them outside and keep an eye on them.  Its a drizzly cool day outside so I will not be tempted by the sun magnet in my posterior to be drawn outdoors for any significant amount of time.


When the rain started I moved the first that one I had taken out to the flower bed, and the second one, when it was ready, to a Mexican Petunia plant just outside my back door but underneath the eave in the dry.  They hung out there all day.  As the day wore on, I was in for more surprises as two more emerged.


WOW!! What was two is now four, and I decide that with the weather so damp and chilly I would just let them overnight on the dining room table since I had seen in them no interest in flying, such as exhibited by the outdoors couple.


Playing with my new toys I take this butterfly photo and turn it into a monochromatic concept for painting.


This female latched onto the one male in the group and was really going after him.  He was smaller than she was so I was afraid she would hurt him.  I moved her 3 different times to another part of the plant but she would always go back to him.  Bruce said "they are too young" and I say "when life is as short as theirs you are probably just born ready".


Outside, with our wonderfully warm winter, I find the signs of awakening and hormones starting to get ready for nesting season as Monday was a wonderful sun-shiny day.  It was evident in the love song of our little Carolina Wren as he sang for his soul mate.  Lets hope they once again nest in the birdhouse that was their home last year.


What I thought was a leaf stuck on my outside screen was instead this very amorous set of unusual moths involved in what must be construed as a lover's embrace.  There is probably a lot going on underneath that spread open wing that might be too risque for polite company.


The Florida Green Anoles are awaking from their winter slumber.  This one seemed to be wondering about the origin of this evidence of the passing-by, pardon the expression, of one of his own kind (the black spot with its white tip which has dropped off).  You can always tell Anole droppings by the white dot on the end.  This one was still in a slow mode as he sat in this one spot even when I put my finger toward his head all he did was open his mouth.  If I had only had a dead fly it would have been a first step in reinforced training to eat flies from my hand, but you can't find a dead fly when you need one.  I was even pretty sure I saw Lewis Lizzard, since he was not fearful of me, but was more grown up and a beautiful bright green color.  Good old Lewis, he was fun to keep for a while.  I would hate to think of him being kept captive forever though.  He seemed to be having a good time running around the front porch where I first found him lying, that cold day, when he was still in hibernation mode.  I had thought him dead but after a few days he revived.  But that's another story already in the archives; if you want to do the research and find it.

Lets hope that winter has gone, at least for the time my mom, Aunt Helen, brother Mike and Sister-in-law Denise are visiting me, till the end of the week.  The Northwest has been cold, damp and snowy for my brother, so they are certainly ready for warmer weather.  Here's to fun, family and Spring.

Work is beginning on two more commissions, one which will not be so difficult (I hope) and another undersea one which will be large and a challenge.

Swinging into Spring

Finally it has happened; the cold snap has snapped and Spring-like weather has blessed our cold frozen bones.  I know it is all relative, but for us Floridians it has been a cold winter.  The sunlight on the Spanish Moss is such an interesting thing to me.  The glow is seldom ever quite as good in a photograph as it is in person...

...but I keep trying.  It was a special evening ahead.  We had been invited to watch the wonderful old love story of Dr. Zhivago in the equally wonderful home theater created by my husband for some good friends.  A walk to their backyard for a glimpse of Lanceford Creek at high tide was a must.

I tried to not spook Mr. Egret but was unsucessful, however I was able to get his leap into space caught in stop action.

Not a bad view to inspire an artist needing to get a painting of a marsh finished.

A few days later I wandered down to the waterfront to apologize to the sunset for having neglected it too much this year.  I promised that after I finish my tax reports I will do better--like have a real life.

When I get home I see Bruce with his back to me standing very still in the back yard near the squirrels feeding tree.  I know instantly that he has company.  I figured it was about time for a new photograph for all to see; our Ms. Shelly doing her usual, eating pecans and peanuts.

Her identifying mark now is the small notch in left her ear.  As I was expecting, knowing what I have learned about squirrels, Shelly had for the third time in her young life, disappeared for a couple of weeks.  That usually means that she is the one who is expecting, as in the family way.  During this time period she visits more often, is more relaxed, and lives a few weeks of freedom from responsibility.  She also starts eating lots of good fattening foods as well as hiding many for her future responsibilities as a new mom.

An addition on the beach which did not make me that happy to see, is a long dredge pipe stretching the length of the Park's oceanfront.  It is supposed to only take 5 weeks to finish the dredge job with all of the sand deposited South of the park but must be piped in via our beach.

Last week was full moon week so we made it a point to join friends and sit out on the deck at Sandy Bottoms Restaurant to enjoy watching it come up from below the horizon.  Not a great photo but with the low haze the color was pretty and orange.

Climbing higher we began to enjoy orange sprarkles on the water also.

As it gained height it became the more silvery moon now painting the water with a much broader stroke.

Lewis Lizzard is still with us and has moved into a 10 gallon aquarium.  We were advised by a friend who does rehabbing that we should keep him inside until we are sure that it will stay warm and not just what might be a fleeting warm spell.  He really wants out and stays in the end of the terrarium next to the window, wishing greatly that he could get his life back to normal.  He does seem pretty content as he stays bright green most of the time now.  It is very important that he get enough UV light so I raise the blind in the day time even opening the window so the light is more direct as well as keep a lamp on him during daytime.

Outside everyone living in and around the backyard seems to be waking up to the signs of spring and nest building.  This young lady seems to be thinking seriously about building her nest in the Jasmine trellis and screen alongside the patio.  We wish it were Shelly instead.

This Carolina Wren was trying to decide whether to build his nest in the same area.  He sang and sang even though his mouth was full of nesting material.  I have been told that the male will build several nest sites and then let his lady help choose the one she wants.  Such a thoughtful little fellow.

This cute little Tree Frog isn't quite sure that it is warm enough for him to awaken as he just kind of peeps at me then closes his eyes again.  He is sitting on the front porch area of my house.  He blended in so well with the leaf I almost didn't see him.

This hedge type plant, of which I do not know the name, was a surprise as I never knew it had this fruit like seed.  It felt soft like ripe fruit and I wondered how it would taste but did not have the nerve to try it.  Maybe I will though.

My Cape Cod friend Anne, with roots deeply sprouting straight from Tennesse, who used to enjoy lots of adventures with me, took me on a, 'new for me hike'.  These days it seems our schedules seem to prevent us from doing as much while she is here.  One of her favorite walking trails is in Fort Clinch State Park but I had never hiked it.  She is saying "this is one of my favorite parts" as the trail wound up what used to be a dune in days gone by.

The trail winds along only a short distance from the road but gives the feeling you are deep in the woods of a forest.  The wind was blowing causing the Spanish Moss to sway and swing in front of us.

We took time to find some new things as we use our artists' eyes to be aware of patterns and interesting formations on the trees.  We decide this must be a gall of giantic proportions on this tree.  There were several very old Southern Magnolias along the trail, with Yupon shrubs, an American Holly, Live Oaks of course, lots of Palmettos, and Palms.  There were also many wild Bay trees trying to resurrect themselves from the roots after almost being destroyed by that invasive bug which attacked them a few years ago.  We are "rooting" for their ability to survive, unlike the Chestnuts trees which used to fill the forests of old which also tried, but unsuccessfully, to regrow from their roots.  Each time they were always knocked back down before they could have a chance to grow.

Nothing here is quite as beautiful in the sun,especially to an artist, as Palmetto leaves as the patterns play across their angular surfaces letting the light make magic as it filters through the rich and waxy green of their fronds.

I first noticed this lovey pink Lichen when I was on Cumberland Island.  It is almost the color of the Roseate Spoonbills.

There is beauty even in death.    These beautiful patterns are all that is left of an Armadillo that once rooted its way around the forest floor looking for grubs on which to dine.   If you have never heard of Go-Go Ferguson then I will tell you.  She is a wonderfully talented jewelry artist who takes things like this beautifully patterned shell, casts it in silver and creates some very collectable jewelry.  She lives on Cumberland Island (and other places) and her jewerly is cast from molds she makes from these and other of the life forms (collected in their dead forms) from the island.  Her Armadillo Shell and Rattlesnake Rib brackets, as well as her Racoon "Pecker" Earrings are well known and worn by many.  She designed the wedding rings for John Kennedy and his bride when they were married on Cumberland.  Her beautiful little Sea Star necklaces were chosen as gifts for the G-8 wives when the G-A Conference met on St. Simons Island a few years ago.

We also found a live version of the Armadillo making its way through the undergrowth.   They don't hear or see very well so probably never saw what was most likely a Bobcat which decided on a different menu for his dinner.  I never realized that the armor was quite as hard as it was until I was able to touch the pieces we found.  Usually an Armadillo will roll up into a ball and be pretty safe but there is that soft underside that is alway vulnerable.

Another day another short adventure as a friend happened to mention that there was a Bald Eagle's nest in his neighborhood.  My ears perked up and my mouth immediately voiced my desire to see this.  We are experiencing our first Bald Eagle nest in modern times here on the island and I wanted to see for myself.  I have spotted a few of the adults around the island and knew they were nesting somewhere.  Although the adults did not show up we did get to watch the kids as they are almost grown to fledgling size.  We believe there are 3 chicks.  This fellow moved into and out of the nest a couple of times while we were there.  Although it seemed as if he were ignoring us, once we enlarged the photos we could see that he was actually watching us pretty closely.

The nest was very high up in the top of a large pine tree, where I am told is a favorite nesting site.  They have a very large nest.  The wings of the chicks were also very large when they spread them to balance moving in and out of the nest and to flex them in preparation for the time when they will be flying on their own.  I understand the Southern Bald Eagle is smaller then the Northwestern ones.  This was a day to really wish my camera lens would have been stronger. Shameless plug time! (If you would, indulge me a mention of our other family business.) Note  that my husband, Bruce, has over twenty years in the custom residential electronics field, and is an independent designer, licensed reseller, and troubleshooter.  So if you fall into the group of folks who only wish your electronics would perform flawlessly, and up to their potential, give him a call. Among many areas, the main ones you'll be familiar with are Home Theater, Home Automation, Whole house AV, Computer/Data Security, and Personal Safety.   His company is Alltech Systems Design and Consulting, 904-261-5115. http://www.alltech-systems.com