Left Behind

Found this snake's shed skin in our front yard. By the looks of the skin, it was a small snake, I'm guessing a Black Racer. Black Racers are non-poisonous and diligently work to help keep the rodent population in check. The *extra...is what I'm sure is the Last Monarch Caterpillar of this year. It's mom deposited the egg on one of the few remaining Swamp Milkweeds with leaves.  I don't expect this little one to survive. It may or may not manage to pupate but by then our nightly temps will be in the low 40's so...it's just living it's caterpillar life. Which, when you think about it, is all any of us are really able to do. Just one day at a time.