Not so Squished
An awesome camper brought in a cutting of milkweed last week, and on it were three monarch butterfly caterpillars, busily munching on the leaves. The camper also brought in a chrysalis, which was really cool. I have never seen one before, nor have I ever witnessed the emergence of a butterfly from the chrysalis. The ...
Isn't this wild?! The campers found this in the park and I've learned that this beautiful caterpillar is going to turn into a stunning cecropia moth, North America's largest native moth. Wingspan can reach over six inches! When I first saw it, I was freaked out in a fascinated way. My boss told me she's seen ...
Unlike bees, I am terribly afraid of wasps. Don't you agree that they have a very menacing look, like they are deliberately out to taunt and terrify? That's what I see. Wasps keep me out of my own garden, and I notice them in the mid-late afternoons when the sun is out and my garden ...
My no longer fruit producing Alpine strawberry plant remains on the potting table. The leaves have been yellowing, so I fertilized it a few weeks ago, and the leaf colour is slowly improving. What remained a big mystery for many weeks, maybe even over a month, has been the hole-punched leaves. I had posted a ...
In May, I was gifted with a small plant. I had no idea what it was, but I suspected it was a succulent. It's a unique plant in that it develops plantlets on the mother leaf, which made it fairly easy to do a search on the internet. Say hello to Kalanchoe daigremontiana (common name: Mother of ...
Year one of growing garlic in my own garden is going well so far. I wasn't sure how they would fare as there are squirrels in the neighborhood, and they love digging everything up. In addition to these urban pests, the soil where I planted the bulbs last fall is not ideal. It's mostly clay ...
How often do you think about death? I know it will happen, but I don't know when, nor do I dwell on thoughts related to my death. I don't ponder about the how or when it will happen. I accept death as a part of life, but while I am alive, I want to live ...
I typically attend workshops on my own, but given that hubby has an interest in bread making, I signed us both up for a sourdough bread making workshop hosted by West End Food Co-op. It costs $60 for non-members, or $55 for members. The $5 membership is a one-time fee, and it allows you to ...
I don't know if my Monday could have gotten any better. It started off with sunshine and warm weather. We've hit at least 20 degrees Celsius today. On top of that, me and some of my co-workers walked down to the High Park Zoo to visit the baby capybaras. My boss had spoken to the zoo keeper ...
I have never had the pleasure of seeing a hummingbird in my area, and I'm not surprised. My street is not lined with plants that attract these amazing birds. I developed a fascination with hummingbirds when I saw them feeding in Utah while we were dining at the Rim Rock. Last summer I purchased a ...