Tag Archives: wildlife

a girl and her bug collection

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

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raising eastern black swallowtail butterflies

It was soon after I bought the Painted Lady caterpillars (mentioned briefly in my recent post) that I went down to the spring plant sale at the farm and had the tiny baby Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars pointed out to me on the dill plants for sale.

I’ll admit that as much as I love dill, the reason I got the dill plants was to try raising these butterfly babies.

The only butterflies that I’d ever raised up until that point had been Painted Ladies, so I was psyched to have another species to watch grow. I will say that at the end of this particular journey, I was very relieved to set them free, because it was a bit of a roller coaster. But I’ll also say that I think I learned a couple things, and I’d probably try it again if I find some more babies next year!

(you can watch the YouTube short that I made about raising them here!)

cutest lil face munchin on his dill leaves 🥺

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beaver skull art

A new addition has been added to my…skull wall. Which yes, sounds like a strange thing to have in a bedroom that has pink walls, and white furniture trimmed with gold.

But you know what? I’m pretty sure I pull this vibe off perfectly.

Because floral skulls, y’all.

With gold teeth.

The vibes are impeccable.

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a small update

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)

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the meadow

This year my family and I decided to let our front yard grow up into a meadow…and to say that we’re excited about it would be an understatement.

**sulphur cinquefoil** (*Potentilla recta*)

click on the photos to enlarge them

The backyard is where we spend almost all of our outdoor time. The deck is back there, the gardens are back there, the chickens are back there, the trees are back there, and it’s pretty much completely hidden from the road. It’s our little oasis (when the neighbors aren’t being too noisy, that is).

Aaaaand as for the front yard, it’s pretty much been wasted space.

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