let’s discuss this chair. it’s a wonderfully cool seat into which you can sink your hot and tired arse after it’s been walking all over the huntington gardens. and it’s tucked away behind some hedges and large trees. i communed with a squirrel here on saturday morn. he was very curious and jumped up onto the lion’s head arm. hoping, i suspect to be fed, and looking as though he would take a treat directly from my hand. i must remember to bring him something next weekend. some small token of my affection so that we can get better acquainted.
will you just look at this glorious creature!
i found her on an unknown plant that sprung up in a sunny crack in my driveway. soft and furry and snowy and lovely. now developing tiny yellow flowers that are tightly wound, but may open soon.
i believe it is sweet everlasting or rabbit tobacco. i identified the caterpillar as an american lady butterfly caterpillar, which led me to the plant identification. but i am very open to correction if you know this not to be the case. if you look closely above you can see her in the top right quadrant of that photo.
but don’t tire your eyes, here is a larger photo.
i go outside no fewer than 20 times per day to see what she’s doing.
eating! always eating!
she’s grown quickly. i first discovered her last weekend and she was only about 1/2 inch long. now she’s pushing 1.25″ or so. what a delight to watch her working her little caterpillar maw over the leaves. wanna see a totally cool video? yeah, i thought so!
i’m hoping this plant will seed itself all along this wall. the end.
chapter 3: this bee.
i caught him in mid-flight before he dove down the sweet throat of this giant cactus flower.
and a few more photos from my weekly tromp down public garden paths.
in other random news…
This wallpaper book is making me want to glue a bunch of wallpaper in a handmade book and fold each piece over just like these.
this book book is the best book i’ve listened to all year. the main character reminds me of my pop and the narrator was fabulous.
now i’m listening to lighthouse island, an atmospheric dystopian tale set in the distant future. it’s also by paulette jiles and every bit as good as NOTW. my new audible book addiction makes me feel like i’m living in a story book. television is alas, a far-off friend whose address i’ve forgotten.
what are you doing? choose all that apply.
a. going on long walks through pumpkin patches
b. donning a bonnet and picnic basket and setting off down a headland path that leads to a nice wooden bench under a golden tree overlooking a wide blue ocean.
c. sitting in a rocking chair on your porch with a cat on your lap
d. something else!
BTW stitch*bookery is fully open and accepting new peeps. i decided against running another “live” version – no time! so everything is available from the get-go, and…on sale till Nov. 1st
that concludes this blog post.
see ya soon!
I have an artist friend in the Hudson Valley who adores Spitalfields Life, is always sending along treasures found there. Yes, the book makes me want to do just what you described. I need to create a habit of audio books. It sounds restful. What a glorious creature, your caterpillar. To see her so close-up adds to the magic. My first job, begun in the 9th grade, was at the Huntington Library, its earlier configuration. What heaven to wander the gardens and galleries on breaks or during lunch. I was the youngest employee, even when I left at 18 to earn a living wage elsewhere. What they didn’t offer in salary ($1.00 an hour, forever) was eclipsed by the chance to spend hours a day in a dimension I greatly preferred. Apropos of almost nothing, a squirrel presented with a peanut M&M will remove all the chocolate and cast it aside. xo
Such lovely posts-all of them. I admittedly drift away from this site, once I return I can’t imagine why I let myself do so. Daily observations that slow me down & allow moments to appreciate the spectacular around me that can so easily become mundane. Thank you for continuing to leave words here I can happily come back to!
I really, really want to get near that chair! Sit in it, photograph it. And I’m sure you know I’m a serious squirrel fan girl – peanuts in the pocket for the garden hike. I’ve been enjoying all the caterpillars in my neck of the woods – checked one out of the library the other day – much to the relief of the caterpillar and the alarmed librarian. And now to top it off, in my Lessville Campaign, I was just about to toss out a stack of wallpaper books when you HAD to draw our attention to the possibility of adding wallpaper to a journal……going out to the studio to extract the best pages!
Wonderful & inspiring, thanks Mary Ann!
Hi Mary Ann! Speaking of squirrels … one of the highlights of my day is when I sit on the patio with my first (and usually only) coffee and iPad and commune with the neighborhood squirrels. I put food out, so they and the birds eat there from morning until they disappear for the evening. This morning, one of them was less than 2 feet from my legs eating away. Then another one entered the patio. They stared at each other and then the chasing began. Only this time one of them attacked my slippered foot thinking it was the other squirrel. No harm done, but it was a close call … Anyway, this morning I felt the furry body of one squirrel running behind my legs and the other squirrel starting to attack my slipper before it realized its mistake and ran off chasing the other squirrel. You never know what you’re going to get with those little guys/gals. Also, every day two of the squirrels spend some time wrestling with each other. I think they are brothers and you know how brothers can be with each other. They are so funny to watch! … Love you posts of your adventures on your walks and in the beautiful back of your house!
I’m intrigued by the design & color palette on that caterpillar. Who would have thought of combining Burgundy, pale green, & white? Stunning! Great find.
Loved News of the World, and you’re right, that was an exceedingly cool video! xox
I also just finished NOTW and loved it. Since you enjoyed Mr. Gardner’s narration I’ll recommend his reading of Cold Sassy Tree, possibly my fave audiobook ever, written by Olive Ann Burns. Walk on and prosper!
oh marilyn THANKS for that book rec..one of those hovering on the periphery for years and years but never read..
I have a 45 min commute now and have listened to 3 magnificent books: the tea cake girl of hummingbird Lane, lilac girls and delicious. I highly recommend each one. Oh the voices, they transport you!
!!! more to add to my audible list. thanks!
Greetings
Have to share a good read. I know you’re interested. Ordinary Grace , William Krueger. I give it a ten.
i think my sister told me about this…or i read about it…or something. thanks!
Taking a break from cleaning my house. I think your ID on the caterpillar is spot on. The “Bee” picture, though, is of a syrphid fly. As adults they feed on nectar and pollen of many flowers and the honeydew created by sucking insects, hence the nosedive into the flower. Another common name is hover fly (they fly around like a helicopter, hovering above the plants). If you look closely at your photo you can see there is only 1 pair of wings, so that means it is a fly. They do mimic bee coloring, probably in the hope that natural enemies will think they might get stung and leave them alone. Bees/wasps always have 2 pairs of wings. The larval stage of the syrphid fly looks like a slug and is an aphid predator (they will also eat other kinds of soft-bodied sucking insects). Youʻll often find them in the curled up leaves where aphids are feeding. Love the wallpaper sample book. Amazing the things that people used to know how to make. I wonder if that is a lost art?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly
i was hoping you’d chime in and give me a gold star for identifying the caterpillar! excited to learn of the hover flies! i wonder if that is what buzz around my pride of madeira and lavendar in early summer…will pay closer attention now!
Keep an eye on your caterpillar and you may be rewarded with a chrysalis and all the magic. My sister raises monarchs and swallowtails in San Diego. She has several different milkweeds, the chosen food of the monarchs. A couple of years ago I watched in awe as the butterfly wriggled out, gradually pumped liquid into its wings and then dried them. Finally flying out into the sun. Fascinating.
Loved this blog post. I picnicked on a bulkhead on Puget Sound this afternoon. With friends, celebrating unbirthdays. It was sunny, slightly breezy, luscious picture clouds in the sky. You would have liked the view.
bulkhead! puget sound! YES!