Eclipse!

Skip and I had fun during the eclipse. I made a pinhole viewer which was somewhat successful but the image was very small as the focal length was short - the depth of a Mary's Crackers box.

Skip heard somewhere that if you project the image through binoculars, there would be a good image. That was very successful. I don't know why the TV networks broadcasting the event didn't mention this easy method.

I stood with my back to the sun with the big end of the binoculars up and pointed over my shoulder and the small end downwards.

I projected the image onto the dark container that I keep deck equipment in.

The cool thing is that I could focus the binoculars to get a really sharp image. And it was a decent size, too.

We were pretty proud of ourselves that we were successfully nerdy.

We're all geeked up for the next eclipse on April 8, 2024.  We'll have our binoculars ready.

Shadow selfie...

Winding Down

After 12 days of multiple monarch eclosings and releases, today is the first day I didn't have a pupa eclosing. I have released 60 adults, have no eggs, have 4 larvae - three very close to pupating, and 11 remaining pupae. If all goes well, I will have raised and released 75 adults monarchs this year.

On Sunday, Christine brought two of her children over to see my operation. While showing them one of my milkweed patches, Nathan found a larva on a leaf.

After determining that he wanted to take it home, I broke the top part of the plant off and stuck the stem in a reservoir. He named it Jo(e) - (we won't know if it's a boy or a girl 'til it ecloses).

Christine messaged me two days later to say that Jo(e) had pupated so we're all looking forward to seeing it emerge. In the meantime they have found what they think are a couple more eggs which they're raising.

The butterflies emerge before noon. I keep them in the castle for a few more hours so their wings fully expand, dry, and get strong enough for flight. Here you can see an empty casing in the top foreground, a couple of darkening pupae, a larva on the top right, larvae on the floor hidden by milkweed, and 4 adults ready to be released.

Usually I unzip the door and just leave it open for the adults to fly out. More often than not I have to encourage them to leave. Often I take the butterfly to either the echinacea plant or a zinnia. They usually just sit there for a while, sometimes unfurling the proboscis and feeding. Then they fly away.

This is my last larva. It will be 9x this size before it pupates in a week or so.

The whole operation will be wrapped up 10 - 12 days after that, in plenty of time before our trip. If this last guy is still in a pupa when we leave, I have a friend who has agreed to release it.

This has been a very rewarding year for me - far exceeding my expectations. As I only released 4 last year, my goal this year was to really spend time looking for eggs and hopefully release 20 adults. Having 40 hungry caterpillars in various stages kept me hopping a couple of weeks ago - finding enough milkweed to feed them, and keeping the frass cleaned out of their various habitats. But I have really enjoyed feeling like I make a difference in their numbers.

The only down side was that Skip and I couldn't make any mini trips all summer. Next year, I will investigate having a couple of interested friends 'larva-sit' for us so we can have a bit more freedom.

Matchy Matchy

For our upcoming tour of Scandinavia, I've been searching all summer for a waterproof windbreaker that is a distinctive colour, big enough to allow layering underneath and long enough to cover my derrière if it rains. I finally found it at Sears for half price. BONUS!

However, I don't have any accessories that match the aqua colour so I've been trying to decide what scarf and hat to make for it.

I had knit this hat earlier this year. I like the Nordic style but didn't think the bright blue was quite right with the aqua coat colour.

I decided to re-knit it swapping the bright blue for aqua-coloured yarn that is just a shade or two darker. Not surprisingly I had it in my stash already. Fortunately, Mo provided me with the white yarn from her stash.

I found this tutorial via Pinterest on how to make a fringed scarf from woven plaid fabric. So off to Fabricland I went with my windbreaker in a bag to match the colours. This was the plaid that I came home with.

 

Now the pattern calls for 2 yards that you can get 2 scarves from. Being cheap thrifty, I bought one metre and will sew the two lengthwise halves together, then do the fringeing.

I also started a Nurmilintu scarf with Punta Yarns Mericash Hand Painted fingering yarn - again from my stash. I have enough to make a medium-sized asymmetric, triangular, garter stitch and lace scarf.

Once I have everything done, I'll decide what I'll actually take on the trip. Whatever gets left behind will still get worn as I use the jacket the rest of the year.

Prairie Cat Socks Completed

I finished these socks today.

They are very thick and warm.

The Kroy sock yarn is very durable and soft.

I like that I made them negative images of each other.

Because of the stranding, more than one ball of each colour is needed.

This is only the first pair of socks I've actually knit to completion this year!

#12 and #15

#12 and #15 eclosed this afternoon. #13 and #14 are dark chrysalids and could emerge at any time.

I have 3 j-cats.

I think this one (#12) is a male. It's hard to get a good photo inside the castle. But I see a scent gland spot on the right hind wing.

This one was one of the two that attached themselves to the milkweed stem. I cut the stem on either side of the chrysalis and attached it to the ceiling of the castle with thread.

Just to the left of the centre j-cat is the darkened chrysalis of #13. There are about 31 more to go in there. I'll release them in a few hours after I know their wings are strong enough.

In the styrofoam cup at the bottom of this picture contains the pupa that I damaged attempting to relocate it to the castle. I tore the entire cremaster and silky threads off it. However, it has continued to develop and judging from the colour, should eclose in a day or so. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will not have any deformities. I tried to glue a hanger onto it so I could suspend it from the ceiling of the castle but the chrysalis is so slippery, I was unable to find a non-toxic adhesive that would stick to it. White glue and different types of sticky tape just slid off. I have tipped the container on its side, hoping that when it emerges, the butterfly will hang from the edge of it and the wings can unfurl and strengthen normally.

#35 - #54

All those eggs I collected mid-July are pupating from the larva stage. They seem to like the corner of the castle. The four on their own at the back are ones I relocated from other places where they were hanging. I have several others in other containers.

Directly above each one, I have a piece of masking tape with the chronological number and the date it pupated. When it ecloses, I'll easily be able to see that information, and quickly be able to tell how long it was in the chrysalis.

#12 - #14 pupated on August 2 so should eclose any day now. They have started getting darker.

I have several more active big larvae. With them and the other larvae, I should be able to release over 65 adults this year. I haven't brought in any new eggs in the last 4 days so that might be it for this season.

Prairie Cat Socks

I started this the other day on 2.5mm needles. I had most of the leg done when I realized it was just too snug. It's only 66 sts (multiples of 11 for the kitty cats).  I knit it again with 2.75mm needles and that solved the problem. 

The pattern calls for an afterthought heel but it is not my favourite - it's easy but a bit fiddly. Instead, I did a short row heel., starting it halfway along the 8 stocking stitch rows between kitty cat heads.

On the mate, I'm going to knit it reversing the colours.

BTW, this was just stash yarn - Kroy Socks 4-ply in Muslin and Glencheck colourways.