Chippewa Valley Butterfly Effect: Eau Claire home filled with bu - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Chippewa Valley Butterfly Effect: Eau Claire home filled with bu - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Once again, Jim has done a wonderful job explaining the native butterflies of Wisconsin!  Love the footage, too!  It documented the Butterfly House to a *T*!  Enjoy!  --LKR

Leapin' Lilies!

We've had two of our butterfly gardens for three years, now, and they are looking fuller than ever--even with the bunnies and deer snacking on their stalks--and buds! Oh, and with the moles sometimes chowing down roots, too! --Oy!!!
You know, my once thriving patch of stinging nettle began dwindling, which baffled me. So I camped out in front of that patch and caught those little moles red handed! Well, stinging nettle is high in vitamin C..., but those were meant for our Milbert's Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, and Question Mark butterfly caterpillars, as well as for soups and stews for us in the place of spinach! But, like I said before, the gardens are finally filling in, in spite of things. Because we've moved around enough and have started many perennial gardens at each place, we've had the opportunity to observe and prove this saying is true:

1st year, sleep
2nd year, creep
3rd year, leapOur gardens have indeed leapt, to my delight!!!

Having had such a loooooong winter..., they are a much more treasured sight! --LKR

Feeding Baby Blue Bird

Dad! Dad! Over here!!!

Isn't this sweet? Daddy Bluebird is feeding junior a fuzzy, mouthwatering caterpillar! Nummy! Both parents share the task of feeding their three to six offspring.

Every 15 to 20 minutes, mom and dad feed each baby caterpillars, mealworms, spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, or even berries that are in season. Like most species of birds, they are dedicated parents with a demanding job!!!This baby might be as large as it's parent, but an easy way to tell it's a young one is by the white ring around each eye, and the spotted breast. This little dude will soon be foraging for himself.

Bluebirds are very clean animals, tossing bird turds, and the shells--after their darlings have hatched!--far away from the nesting site. As is the case in most species, the male is brightly colored, while the female dons duller, bluish-gray feathers. --LKR

Below is a cute little poem by Mariam Kirby:

In summer, juicy insects crawl
On leaves and through the grass.
I feast on bugs until late fall
Then catch them less and less.
Soon winter comes with snow and ice
And winds all in a flurry.
The bugs are gone, but in their place,
a berry February!

A Strange Summer, So Far...

This has been a really strange summer, to say the least. The locals agree. If it hasn't been wet and rainy, it's been cool and windy. Today's high was only 68 degrees!!! We haven't had to use the air conditioning at all, so far!

Trees bloomed and leafed out later than normal, this spring, but the melodious croaking of frogs seemed to be on time, in spite of the late April snowfalls. --Yes, that's plural!!!

It was also shocking not to see our lilacs swarming with several species of butterflies, especially the emigrating red admiral and American painted lady. Our sweet smelling mock orange bush, also a butterfly magnet, has surprisingly drawn very little outside of the various bees.

But, the flowers are blooming, the grass is once again green, and in spite of the drop in butterfly sitings, I'm finding eggs on their specific host plants. To see photos of butterflies, moths, and caterpillars, check out the posts on my leps blog at: http://lezasleps.blogspot.com/ --LKR

Shedded Snake Skin

Jake our fox snake shed his skin, today!!! This is always so exciting because it lets us know he's growing and doing well! I'll liken it to all those well-baby visits us moms--and dads--have gone on with a new baby where we've seen our children's growth on charts.

Snakes are still relatively new to our family--at least as pets. And, Jake is still a new baby to me. Kind of like a first-born, too, since he's of a different species!

It's not quite the same, but reminds me how fascinating it was--and still really is--to watch our caterpillars molt (shed their skin) or pupate (shed their skin for the last time revealing their chrysalis). This said after rearing literally thousands of butterflies for well over a decade. It just never gets old, and it'll probably be the same with Jake! --LKR

Jake will be shedding his skin, soon. Notice the dull coloration of his body and cloudy eyes.

These wide scales are from his belly.
Can you see the face--the jaw and eyes? It's very important to make sure that the eye scales are accounted for. If they are still on the eye(s), care must be taken in removing them so the snake can see and no other problems occur.