I was preparing for this vacation with more than just a little trepidation, because, if I’m being quite honest, I didn’t enjoy last year’s vacation much at all (you can see some photos from it in this post, but I never went into great detail about any of it).
Which really sucked, because everyone else had a grand ol’ time.
I finally finished sifting through my billions of video clips (it was too much, I know); you can check out my collection of vacation Shorts here!
I decided to single-handedly save the monarch population in a single season; you can now refer to me as Monarch Mommy™
This, of course, is a joke (the saving the species part, not the Monarch Mommy™ part), and since raising monarchs indoors can be quite a hot top on the internet (who knew, right?), I’m going to start this post with a clear disclaimer: apparently it’s not been proven that indoor rearing of monarchs has done much — if anything — to help the general monarch population.
Some studies say that, if done improperly, the indoor raising of monarch butterflies can actually have an adverse effect on the general monarch population.
*steps onto my soapbox*
Let me just say that I completely agree with some reasonings (like it can make spreading disease easier), while other reasonings I completely disagree with. For instance, believing that nature successfully “picks off the weak” and that we’re interfering with that process by protecting them?? Um, here’s my hot take: having a wasp lay eggs in a caterpillar doesn’t mean that a caterpillar is weak, it just means that it was one unlucky little dude who now has to endure a horrific death!
I believe that my butterflies were part of the migratory generation (also known as the “super generation”), and they were much larger than other monarchs that I’ve seen around
the sun peeks over the horizon,
golden beams winding through branches,
dappling the sleeping plants in glory.
dew drops rest on stems,
held captive in the hair of the plant,
shimmering and glinting,
like pearls ‘round a rich woman’s neck,
everyday magic so easily overlooked.
they stretch and reach their arms to the sky,
elegant smiles on their concealed faces,
coaxed back to life by a jubilant sun.
The fam and I returned from our 6 days of seaside vacationing on Tuesday, and ever since then I’ve been sifting through hundreds of videos and compiling them into aesthetic YouTube shorts (these are pretty much purely for my and my family’s entertainment, but there’s a slight chance that somebody else might enjoy them too).
I was originally throwing around the idea of making a longform video about the trip, but after spending the whole first day of the vacation capturing aesthetically-pleasing footage (think: sanderlings running along the surf in front of a pastel-pink sunset), my camera decided to throw a fit, mess with my SD card, and ultimately lose my gorgeous footage.
When I first started pinning butterflies in June (you can see my how to pin butterflies post here), I was well-aware that this was going to be a slow-going hobby for me. I only ever pin bugs that have been found dead, and I think we all know how rare it is to find a beautiful dead butterfly in the wild.
All the Redditors can defend their bug-catching methods all they want, but I’ll never be okay with catching and killing a bug for the sole purpose of owning its beauty. Imagine you’re enjoying your life one day, out in the big wide world, and a giant alien sees you, thinks you’re pretty, scoops you up, and sticks you in their freezer, just so that they can pin you in a box.
Y’all, that’s insane, and there’s not one ounce of me that approves of that selfish barbarianism ☝🏼🤨
the colors and pattern on the Ornate Tiger moth’s wings (bottom left) are pretty crazy
Officially into the 9th month of the year (in case you missed my 60-second August wrap, you can watch it here), and my Christmas senses are tingling, people. The lights want to be hung! The lists want to be made!!
But summer isn’t quite over yet, and I’m making the most of the last days of it.
(Christmas lights will be being hung within the next month)
hangin out with some beautiful girls 🥺❤
July has come and gone (if you missed my July wrap, you can watch it here!), and we are well and truly into summer. As in, it’s frickin hot, and I don’t remember the last time we got rain. I’m giving my gardens just enough water to make it through these hot days, but they could really use a good soaker.
The pole beans are finally producing (I always forget how late they start, but once they start, the harvests are plentiful until the first frost), the butternut squashes are climbing to the sky and have quite the collection of babies growing, and the zephyr squashes have been as delectable as ever.
my friend Brandi sent me these marigold seeds (left) a few years ago, and I’ve continued collecting the seeds and growing them every year since!
It’s been a hot minute (literally) since I’ve posted on this blog — you have no idea how many drafts I’ve started in here, only to lose steam halfway through and never publish them!
When I disappear from one place, it usually means that I’m busy elsewhere, and that has definitely been the case this time around.
Although summer has technically just started, it’s been so much fun so far.
releasing my dear Painted Lady butterflies (more on this later in the post)
art by jordan rae 