Knowing that the hummingbirds would be migrating soon, I spent more time enjoying them today. Most will hide behind the feeder to eat if anyone is outside. The other one does not seem to be afraid of people and will flitter around watching us if we are on the porch. She was a willing model for a few pictures today.
For a break, I sat outside while the kid’s played. I enjoyed watching the hummingbirds that came in for a special treat.
Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV) You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
One of the many benefits of teaching my children at home is that we discover a lot of fun poetry!
A Song of Toad
By Kenneth Grahame
The world has held great Heroes,
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared to that of Toad!
The clever men at Oxford
Know all there is to be knowed.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr Toad!
The animals sat in the ark and cried,
Their tears in torrents flowed.
Who was it said, ‘There’s land ahead’?
Encouraging Mr Toad!
The Army all saluted
As they marched along the road.
Was it the King? Or Kitchener?
No. It was Mr Toad.
The Queen and her ladies-in-waiting
Sat at the window and sewed.
She cried, ‘Look! Who’s that handsome man?’
They answered, ‘Mr Toad.’
The motor-car went Poop-poop-poop
As it raced along the road.
Who was it steered it into a pond?
Ingenious Mr Toad!
Audrey has been letting a few butterflies go every couple of days. She waits until she has five or more and then she releases them all together. Since she has been finding so many caterpillars, most butterflies only stay in the house one night. Usually, when we release butterflies, they fly away quickly. So learning to take pictures of them as they fly away has been a fun challenge.
Audrey released three Monarchs and two Painted Lady butterflies yesterday. While we were in the field, I found a huge caterpillar. Audrey voiced my thought that it would be neat to get a picture of the butterfly flying above the caterpillar.
It was fun trying to get the picture we were attempting. I was on my back so I could focus up. Audrey would place the butterfly and then move her hand away. The butterfly would fly away and then stop for a snack. Audrey would bring it back so we could try again.
I ended up deleting a bunch of pictures. Audrey and I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot. The most important was that Monarchs fly a lot faster than you think!
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (ESV)
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40 :8 (ESV)
I am not sure how many butterflies that Audrey has raised this year. I know that each one that she releases is hard. She would love to keep each of them as long as possible.
It was time to release her last emerged butterfly and we decided to wait till evening so we could get a good picture of the release. Somehow, the butterfly tore his wing as we waited but we were not concerned until, after Audrey released him, he fluttered to the ground and stayed there.
Audrey picked him up and tried again, disappointed that her butterfly was hurt. He fluttered to the ground again. Thinking he might never be able to fly properly, we decided to try one more time. This time, as Audrey released him, the tip of his wing fell off and he quickly flew away.
…watched a butterfly emerge?
Audrey has been raising butterflies again this year and we were able to video tape a butterfly emerging. This year she has raised 15 butterflies and has three more to go.
After the butterflies emerge, she releases them in a field where they will find food and milkweed. She hopes that they stay nearby. We have seen one or two Monarchs after releasing them.
She is hoping to raise more Monarchs this year, but it is already better than her worst year of only being able to find three all summer. Her best year was raising around 100 butterflies! Audrey has not been able to find any eggs or caterpillars for the last few weeks, so we think it may be another slow year.