Author: Rae Spencer

Monarch Caterpillars, Milkweed, and a Publication Note

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Monarch Caterpillar Sept 27

After our successful Monarch Butterfly experience in 2014, I spent much of last summer eagerly anticipating a new crop of caterpillars. Late in September, they arrived.

Monarch Caterpillar Sept 27

Despite the fact that the milkweed was beginning to die back in anticipation of fall, the caterpillars molted through multiple instars.

Monarch Caterpillar Sept 28

Unfortunately, none of the caterpillars survived to maturity. Over a period of three or four days, I found a few caterpillar bodies curled under the milkweed, but most simply disappeared.

Monarch Caterpillar Sept 28

Frustrated by this failure, I moved the milkweed into what I hope will be a healthier location. I also added seeds given to me by a friend. The seeds haven’t sprouted yet, but the yard’s old milkweed seems happy in its new surroundings. So I am once again eagerly anticipating a new crop of caterpillars.

Milkweed April 17

According to the Journey North tracking map, Monarch Butterflies have been sighted in South Carolina and Tennessee. Hopefully, by the time they get to Virginia, the yard will be ready!

 

Publication note: My poem “Metamorphosis” (inspired by our 2014 Monarchs) posted at Poetry Breakfast on April 12th. Many thanks to editor Ann Kestner!

Swallowtail Season Begins

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In mid-March the overwintering swallowtails woke from their long sleep.

Swallowtail March 24

Swallowtail March 14

Swallowtail March 23

Swallowtail March 15

I hope our early swallowtails are a sign of things to come. Maybe it will be a good summer for butterflies!

Swallowtail March 23

Macro Views

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Yellow Weed March 9

Spring makes me wish for a more powerful macro lens.

Hyacinth March 10

I want to capture all of the delicate splendor of the yard as it wakes from winter.

Pear March 11

Weed March 9

I use words like “corolla” and “calyx” in poems,

Pear March 11

Honeysuckle March 11

and name characters after weeds and wildflowers.

Purple Weed March 11

Henbit and Purple Deadnettle.

Purple Weed March 11

Speedwell March 8

Speedwell and Dandelion.

Dandelion March 8

Ant March 10

Spring is the only time of year when I truly love ants.

Ant March 11

As I follow ants with my camera, I find other treasures.

Insect March 9

Moth March 10

When carpenter bees emerge, my imagination becomes airborne.

Bee March 8

Bee March 8

I stalk our carpenter bees with both macro and long-focus lenses.

Bee March 8

Long-focus lenses let me stalk the yard’s other visitors, too.

Squirrel March 9

Squirrel March 9

Ruby crowned Kinglet March 13

But I always return to the macro lens, yearning to be closer.

Fennel March 10

Parsley March 11

Leaf March 8

Publication note: On March 2nd, my poem “On Losing the Old Dog” posted at Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, which is one of my favorite poetry sites. Many thanks to editor Christine Klocek-Lim!

Warm and Cold and Warm Again

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Weed Feb 27

The yard is warm and sunny today, sprinkled with blossoming weeds. A few weeks ago it was frozen and snowy.

Snow Feb 12

This year January and February saw days warm enough for house repairs (replacing wood damaged by carpenter bees), followed closely by days too cold for anything but reading and sleeping.

Damage 3

Bee

Ice January 18

Snow January 23

Some days were strangely confused, cold with bright sunshine or warm with dreary skies.

Vulture Feb 14

Seagull Jan 8

Bird Feb 20

Squirrel Feb 20

Sapsucker Jan 12

Robin Jan 20

Robin Jan 18

Our annual writers’ weekend at the beach brought a little bit of everything.

Beach Feb 1

Beach Feb 1

Beach Feb 4

Beach Feb 4

March will likely bring a little bit more of everything, but hopefully it won’t get fountain-freezing cold again.

Town Center Feb 11

Hopefully.

Scamper, 2001-2016

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BOTH CATS DEN

In 2001 we moved from a small duplex to a house with a garage and yard. We had one cat and one dog, and soon added a pair of orphaned kittens.

BOTH CATS

One of the kittens (on the left in the above photos) was sweet and gentle, and the name “Sabrina” seemed just right for her. The other kitten was fierce and playful and somewhat neurotic, and she defied naming. Nothing quite fit. She became “Scamper” on her medical chart, because I had to put something on her chart, but at home she changed names as often as she changed moods. She was The Scamperer. Thing 2. Her Neediness. The Bad Cat. The Wee Baby Kitty. Supercat.

SCAMPER 1

She was The Bird Watcher. (When it was too cold for open doors and windows, birds on television were better than no birds at all.)

CAT TV 3

Cats May 15

Cat March 26

In her middle years, she grew overweight and lazy. None of her kitten names fit anymore, if they ever had. She was still Scamper when she went to the vet, but at home she was Herself.

Scamper 2014

Cats Aug 24

In many ways, she was the essence of what I love about cats — neuroses and all.

Scamper 2008

In her later years she liked blankets and patches of sunlight and, every so often, an afternoon nap on the couch with me.

Scamper Jan 2011

Health problems came with age. There were medicines and special diets, all of which helped for a time, but as 2015 progressed her condition declined steadily. She lost weight faster than medicine, food, and love could counter. The calendar turned and she lost more weight. Then, in early February, she stopped eating altogether.

So I made one last trip to the vet with our cat of many names. I stayed with her through the euthanasia process, which was gentle and peaceful, and drove home to a house that is achingly incomplete. There’s an empty spot near her favorite upstairs window, one that can never be filled.

Cat Nov 9

Note: Most of the photos in this post were taken by my husband.