Butterflies Out Our Ears!

The first day we arrived at camp, my sister in law, Juanita, handed me a jar full of "stuff". The girls, my nieces, were so excited...I was like..."What is this?".....Yes, me, 31 years old, a nearly 11 year old son, I grew up on a farm for the first 20 years of my life--and I didn't know the first thing about Monarch Caterpillars. Boy, have I got an education now! The little guy was a chrysalis by the next morning, and stayed in the camper with us for 11 days. Two days after we got home, he "hatched" and we let him go. So, SIL tells me...just look on milkweed, and you will find the caterpillars...no biggie...we live in the middle of NOWHERE....milkweed thrives out here....well, two hours later, and with a head full of allergies, not a caterpillar to be found....I figured it was just too late. We missed caterpillar availability. I kept hearing my SIL say how they found more, there were some on the front page of the paper, and my neighbor saw some.....So, we went out among the ragweed once again...this time, thanks to the keen eye of Cody, we were successful. We came back with an adult, a teenager, and two toddlers, as Cody says. We got them in their jars, and now two weeks later, we have three in chrysalises, and one more preparing to do so. Cody then thought it was necessary that his two friends up the road have the same learning experience as he did, so we ventured off to the hayfields one more time. The ragweed was seriously up to my chest...I am almost 6 feet tall! So, three allergy attacks later, we have found (and donated some) 6 of the little buggers. I am getting some pretty good pictures, and I hope to make a paper bag album about our experience! They are quite interesting. They grow so fast. Truly one of natures' miracles! Photo up top is the "adult" and the "toddler" as Cody says. That was a week ago. Now he is as big as the big one!