Good to the last drop

More rain showers today so I used that as my excuse to stay close to home again.  I brought in about a dozen tiny first instar monarch caterpillars, plus at least a half dozen eggs.  Some of the first to "hatch" are already in their 4th instar so things are progressing nicely.  

However, tempting as it was to blip one of the cats, I couldn't resist another hummer.  This young male (with his two red feathers on his throat) has been zealously guarding the pollinator garden next to our patio.  Of course, the minute he has zoomed off in pursuit of an interloper, three more show up to "steal" his nectar.  It never seems to get old watching them...at least not for me.  Another shot of him as he prepares to launch, click HERE

Also in the garden today were my first Summer Azure butterfly and first Giant Swallowtail, both in mint condition.  I've posted the swallowtail HERE on Flickr.  My runner-up shot for the day.  So far...

Went over to see MIL this morning.  She was in very good spirits and flirting up a storm with the two young men who run the PT department at the home.  She will be in physio with them daily for as long as it takes to get her moving well.  Today, they had her walk out to my car and practice getting in the passenger side - this was helpful for me since we'll be taking her to a doctor's appointment on Friday.  Good to see her smiling. Now, if we can just get her to eat more.

Looks like more of the same in terms of the weather for the next few days, so I will probably no be venturing too far.  Happily, the garden is full of things to observe and photograph.

Now that MIL is doing better, Hubs and I are tentatively planning to head over to Pennsylvania on Saturday to hear Joel Sartore speak and to see an exhibition of his work, "The Photo Ark".  I am such a huge fan of his work, both as a photographer and an environmentalist, so I'm very excited to meet him.  If you want more info on his amazing project, Click HERE.  And if you have access to PBS, do look for the 3-part series "Rare" which details his project to document rare and endangered species of mammals, birds, gastropods, fish and arthropods.

Cheers.
Debbi