Category Archives: Life

I’ve seen two monarch butterflies this year. Just two.

I really thought there would be more. We have a whole pasture of milkweed, thistle and wild carrots to entice them…but still, just these two have come to our homestead.

I spotted the first one while out in the swales. It swooped from the grass grown high on the pond to the cherry tree hidden among the tall weeds.

And then it was gone.

Joe found the second one fluttering around the chocolate mint in the vineyard.

The mint patch we have is three or four times the size it was last year. We haven’t planted mint since our first summer here and every year it grows and spreads.

Joe likes to pick a few leaves and chew on them while we are out checking for grapes and blackberries.

He was so excited when he spotted a monarch gently folding and unfolding its wings in the small mint jungle.

“Can we catch it?”

I smiled when I looked at his eager and excited face. “Not this one, buddy.”

A monarch fluttered by
Its paper wings unfurled
It seemed to kiss the sky
Its orange and black wings whirled

So beautiful, so dainty
So fragile and so light
Wings whispering so faintly
Then soaring out of sight

Yesterday, the boys and I collected eggs, squash, grapes, peppers and tomatoes…all in a single outing!

Cherry tomatoes were hiding
Nestled among the squash
Eggs and tomatoes for frying
Dark purple grapes to wash

Three little peppers were ready
Of red tomatoes a few
The prince grew small but steady
A beautiful purpley hue

We also trekked out to the fegde to look for blackberries and aronia berries.

We found a handful of blackberries, which the boys promptly ate. I only got one and that was with some bribery  negotiating.

The boys pulled a bunch of aronia berries. They ate just as many.

I’m not sure how they can stand eating them out of hand. I much prefer them with a bit of orange juice or in a smoothie with a touch of honey. It cuts the bitter and brings out the flavor.

Not the boys. They pop them in their mouth, getting dark purple juice all over their chins.

“Mmmm…these are good Mommy!”

We came away with a small cluster. The boys wanted to save them for Daddy to “make him feel better”. They are full of antioxidants, vitamin C, fiber and other nutrients and are a powerful cold fighter.

Clusters of berries
Soldiers to fight severe colds
Nutrients, attack!

While harvesting, we laughed and smiled
Giddy with the bounty we found
The day was warm, but not too hot
In the sun we twirled ’round and ’round

I think we may have murdered a frog.

I found this little guy in the garden while searching for squash bug eggs. Actually, I’d seen about seven of these stuck to our sliding glass door last night.

I picked it up and took it to Joe. He was ecstatic.

“A frog! Thank you, thank you!”

His excitement lasted until I told him we couldn’t keep it. His little face crumpled as he asked me why.

“Well, frogs have to eat things that move and there are all kinds of pests and bugs in the garden for them to munch on.”

I told him he could play with it for a little while, but then we’d have to release it back into the garden.

He and Jake took turns holding the frog, petting the frog and talking to the frog.

“Time for lunch boys.”

Joe sadly headed to the garden, dragging his feet the whole way.

Then, he stopped suddenly and spun around.

“I have an idea. Let’s put him in the pond where all his friends are.”

I was so happy that he stopped pouting that I instantly agreed. Not thinking about whether or not it was that kind of frog.

It wasn’t.

It moved its little legs with all its might, but only went a few inches in the deep water.

Joe and Jake didn’t seem to notice that something wasn’t right. Jake kept asking me to find one for him too.

I quickly ushered the boys inside to eat lunch and sat down at the computer to find out what kind of frog it was. Something I should have done before throwing it in the water.

As it turns out, this little guy is, or rather was, tree frog. While tree frogs like to soak and play in water, they are not great swimmers. In other words, they usually stay out of the deep end of the pool so they don’t drown.

Oops.

Poor little tree frog
You never did have a chance
Too much love killed you