I See Wings!

I have been watching with great interest as the huge monarch caterpillars turn into chrysalises in the milkweed patch. Then comes the wait - eight to fifteen days - before they turn into butterflies.

I recently moved three chrysalises to spots at the front of the milkweed patch after their leaves became unstable and some chrysalises fell. Since then, they have been hanging from shepherd's hooks, attached by binder clips. This was the first great chrysalis migration.

I have been worried about the chrysalises and the remnants of the hurricane that will be coming through on Wednesday. Should I move them to a clothes line on the front porch? Put them in a cooler or container and move them inside? Simply leave them be?

Then I looked at the chrysalises on this afternoon, and I started to see actual wings! They had not darkened yet, but I suspect that the three chrysalises may become butterflies during the heavy rains! A friend - a fellow monarch mama - and I have joked together. She has three that may eclose Wednesday, and I do too; does that make it a cat(erpillar) 6 hurricane?

I decided to move the Mexican sunflowers that are on pots on the deck into new spots under the roof's overhang to protect them from the heavy rains. After that, I moved the shepherd's hooks the chrysalises are on - carefully, one at a time, with a hand under each chrysalis to protect it, should it fall - into the plant pots with the Mexican sunflowers. This was the second great chrysalis migration.

So now, I hope we are set up to weather the storm, and I plan to watch as the butterflies eclose (if they do!) from an up close and personal view, right inside the deck windows. Now comes the rain! Now comes the wind! Everybody stay safe in the storm!

My soundtrack song is this one: John Mellencamp and Carlene Carter, with My Soul's Got Wings.