The Polyphemus Moth finally mated and laid her eggs – here’s the story with photos. It was fun and I’m excited to try raising some Polyphemus caterpillars this summer. Continue reading
Category Archives: 2006
Polyphemus Moth Adventure – May 31, 2006
My friends Martha and Patty found a Polyphemus Moth caterpillar on July 23 last year (2005). It dropped onto the path ahead of them while they were taking a walk. It spent the rest of the day crawling over people’s hands. Continue reading
Journal for May 24, 2006
The most exciting thing that happened this week was that my Polyphemus Moth cocoon – the one that I’ve been carrying back and forth to the farm and watching so carefully – finally hatched.
Journal for May 17, 2006
This was the week my craft group came to visit – unfortunately it turned rainy and cold the day they came. We got nearly an inch and a half of rain in those two days. We took several damp walks, made a great Indian dinner, and had a good time in spite of the weather.
Journal for May 10, 2006
Pasqueflower (Anemone patens)
This is actually from my friend Jackie’s prairie – I still haven’t been able to find any Pasqueflowers on our land. They grow on dry sandy prairies and are one of the first flowers to bloom – usually in late March or April. I saw this one on April 16th.
Journal for May 4, 2006
We finally got some rain this week – 1.3 inches in 3 days. So I didn’t do much outside work but I did take a few walks in between rainstorms.
I started girdling aspens this week – it seems very early but maybe they’re ready early because of the warm weather we’ve had. I started on this relatively compact clone along the edge of 3 Finger Valley Prairie. (This photo was taken last fall.)
The only long walk I took was up through the woods to Sumac Prairie, down the front of the prairie and through the wetland. The woods are full of Rue Anemones – everything was very wet and covered with water droplets.
Rue Anemones (Thalictrum thalictroides)
There’s a big circular area in the middle of Sumac Prairie that’s covered with Birds Foot Violets.
Birds Foot Violets (Viola pedata)
And Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) are blooming in the wetland.
One afternoon a coyote walked calmly across the septic field and through the gulley to the prairie beyond. And we’ve been seeing lots of Wild Turkeys.
When I was in The Narrows Prairie I watched a cloud blow across the narrow part of the ridge – everything got very dim and misty, and then it blew through and it was clear again.
Journal for April 26, 2006
Spring is a wonderful time of year – I get so excited to see the flowers again that I try to take photos of all of them – so there are lots of pictures this week. Continue reading
Karori Wildlife Refuge
One of the most interesting places we visited in New Zealand was a project that seems a lot like our farm project. It’s called Karori Wildlife Refugeand it’s located just a few kilometers from the city center of Wellington. Here are some of the photos we took of the refuge, and a little about the project. Continue reading
Journal for April 19, 2006
This week was really spring – such warm weather that we could sit on the porch. But it was very dry and we got just a trace of rain. One day it was so windy and the air was so dry that the weather service had alerts about fire danger. Our humidity sensor registered 20% – the lowest we’ve ever seen it. Continue reading