A Prickly Character

We had a visit today from Tim, Maya and Owen. We walked around the lake  where Maya and I stopped to chat with a couple who told us that they had seen a pair of Wood Ducks recently. I asked Maya if she had ever seen a Wood Duck and she said, "Oh yes, they're beautiful…kind of like an upgraded Mallard…" A little further along we stopped to watch a Night Heron stalking something it saw in the water (how it could see anything in that water that was opaque with algae is beyond me). I commented that it reminded me a little of a cat and Maya said, "…kind of like someone pushed the pause button…."  A whole new use of language by the newest generation….

As we were working on a newer, sturdier fairy house this afternoon we began to notice caterpillars all over the place…the next generation of the butterflies I watched emerging from their chrysalises about a month ago. I decided to document the next round beginning with today's caterpillar.