Jun 01 2012
Found at least four new and tiny Monarch larvae (each one about an eighth of an inch long) munching on the milkweed blooms. Also got a shot of a visible egg, which are usually hidden underneath the leaves. With the milkweeds in full bloom and the Monarchs already showing up in force, this promises to be great …
May 31 2012
As expected, our third Monarch Butterfly in as many days emerged today. Unfortunately, it decided to present itself while I was out at an early lunch with friends. I was able to get these shots earlier this morning before I left and you can clearly see that the chrysalis is clear and the Monarch’s colors …
May 30 2012
As expected, and for the second day in a row, we had a Monarch emerge from its chrysalis. It was healthy and flew around the backyard after it had squeezed its body juices into its wings and stiffened up a bit. Also took a picture of what I believe will be the next one to …
May 29 2012
Went out to take pictures of our latest emergent Monarch Butterfly. I ended up getting amazingly lucky (once again) because after a few minutes she dropped down from the potted plant she was a chrysalis on, and landed on an old tree stump near one of our resident lizards. With much care and a lot …
May 28 2012
Unlike the successfully rescued caterpillar named Houdini from a couple of days ago, this unfortunate Jerusalem Cricket (or Potato Bug) did not live to see another day of burrowing on the dirt. He was found next to the Tapias’ pool during our Memorial Day barbecuing, a bit wet, but looking none the worse for wear. …
May 27 2012
My final full day of house/cat-sitting for the neighbors. Very little of real interest happened. However, they have a cool, new wall clock.
May 27 2012
This morning as I was checking the water level in our bird baths and came across this poor, waterlogged, little guy who was floating upside down and not moving. He had swelled up quite a bit from soaking for who knows how long. I fished him out and right away placed him on my t-shirt …
May 26 2012
My second full day of house/cat-sitting. This time I’m adding a few lesser quality cell phone shots that I sent to the neighbor whose house I’m staying at, just to show her that the cats are doing fine. The Four Peters is technically from late last night, but it was what I was watching when …
May 25 2012
Back house/cat-sitting for the neighbors. After spending the first of four nights, today was my first of three full and two half days. That sounds more confusing than it really is. The cats understand it, though.
May 10 2012
Both of the Phoebe chicks that have been tweeting away in a nest on the north side of our house for a few weeks, finally flew the coop today. One of them landed in the pine tree outside our front door. I cracked open the door long enough to take a few shots of it …
May 07 2012
Found this Monarch larva in the backyard hanging from a metal stand as it was searching for a solid spot from which to start the process of transforming into a chrysalis. I was lucky I shot it when I did because later it was gone.
May 06 2012
Had our very first meet-up of photographers who enjoy taking shots at the San Diego Zoo and posting their photos on Flickr, where I also created a group for us. I arrived at the Zoo a bit early so I could get together with Rick Schwartz, the Zoo’s Ambassador, and talk to him about where …
May 03 2012
Came across this beautiful, juvenile skink by the garage back door mat. It was pretty skittish so I slowly sat down and patiently waited until it came back out from underneath the mat. I think it was worth the wait.
Apr 28 2012
So I did some more gardening today. A couple of days ago I discovered a Monarch larva on one of our milkweeds. Figured it was time to clean up the area so it can crawl on the ground from plant to plant easier. Really glad I did because I ended up finding an additional five more larvae. …
Apr 22 2012
For me Earth Day 2012 began with a one hour visit to the San Diego Zoo, mainly because I needed to go down to Balboa Park early to find parking before the crowds for Earth Fair hit. Ran into my friend Steve who works in admissions. Since I knew it would be a short visit I …
