Nature Study in Your Garden~ Black Swallowtail Caterpillars

If you have dill growing in your garden, run out and look for these beautiful caterpillars!    We did this last year and we've been waiting to spot the caterpillars again.    We just cut off a good length of the stem they are on and then place them in our pop up habitat.   They will form a chrysalis right on the stem or on the side of the habitat.   It's super easy and it's amazing to watch as they emerge.   God is such a wonderful creator!

Critters

For Christmas, Ethan and Luke asked for an aquarium.  They also each bough a little portable habitat.  They have been full of so many different critters so far.   They have had tree frogs, bull frogs, toads, praying mantises, caterpillars, butterflies, etc.  

They found these Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my dill and collected 6 of them.   They put them in their habitat.  They pupated within a couple of days and then just emerged as beautiful butterflies the other day.  We were able to catch one of them actually turning into a chrysalis.  It was amazing.  We also caught two emerging as butterflies.  

Luke has kept this praying mantis for awhile now.  It has molted twice.

We were amazed to discover that butterflies camouflage their chrysalis!  We had no idea!   The ones that were on the lid were dark brown and the ones on the glass near the greenery were bright green!  

The garden has been a challenge!  The chickens have dug everything up several times so I have lost so many plants.  I also kept replanting every time and don't really know what's what.  It will be full of surprises for sure!

Fall is Here!

It's my favorite time of year!   This year has been so much different.  Ethan has become so passionate about insects and that has led us to study Monarchs.  In the Fall they begin their migration to Mexico.   It's been so exciting learning all about them as a family.   They truly are amazing!  Metamorphosis and particularly the lives of Monarch's points to God's design of our amazing planet.   We watched this documentary and it we learned so much from it.  

Metamorphosis: The Design and Beauty of Butterflies

Ethan was able to find several Monarch caterpillars behind our house.  Only one survived but it did pupate and eventually emerge.   We were able to tag and release it.  As soon as Ethan placed it on a leaf, facing north, it turned and flew south!  It was so neat!

We've had some very chilly days so I made some homemade marshmallows for the first time (actually the 2nd time but they didn't turn out the 1st time)  and some hot chocolate.

This mug was my grandmothers as a little girl.  

Being goofy, of course!