He hatched

... but...



His wings only unfurled a little more than this. When I woke up on Sunday morning, he was flopping around on the bottom of the tank. He must've fallen down and there wasn't anything nearby for him to pull himself up. There's a stick in there... but just one.

I feel really terrible about this. I actually woke up an hour before I got out of bed, but I turned over and went back to sleep. If only I had gotten up, he might've had a chance.

He emerged way too early... I've seen a few butterflies here and there, but no black swallowtails. Not sure their food source is even available yet, despite the early onset of spring... I'm not sure what I could have done. I did move the tank into a room with more sunlight. Maybe if I'd kept it downstairs he would've stayed...

But maybe not, since the sources I read say that it takes 2 weeks for them to wake up. And I don't think I'd moved it that long.

Anyway. He got to see the world as a butterfly. Which counts for something. And they always do this: you put your finger up to them, and they will crawl up on it. They'll hang on it gently as you move them out of the tank. If their wings are OK, they'll flutter off in the wind.

This guy, not so. I left him on a forsythia bush. Even as he was... he crawled up on my finger when I offered it to him, and he stayed there patiently as I walked over to the forsythia and found a good petal for him to perch on.

I got to see that yes, they're still alive. He was only in 5 months. The other two went in earlier, they might be about 7 months in now. But hopefully they'll take their time, and I'll put more things in the tank for them to cling to once they emerge, and it'll go well.

Black Swallowtail Pupa... hatchin' soon?!

The one seems a lot darker. If I'm right, it's the one that Beth gave me. Darkening might be a sign that the thing's forming up.

I don't have a "before" picture...

You know what they say, though, don't count your butterflies before they hatch. Or, if you want to be technical, eclose.

Whatevah.

Antsy

So I came home from work and did a little plantwork. The oranges need replanted in bigger containers (I may have destroyed one, but time will tell). The pumpkin plant DEFINITELY needed replanted:



Imagine that, but in a normal-sized plastic cup. Yeah. I think it'll like the repurposed ice cream container a lot better.

The avocado will get replanted once I have a suitable container. It's very water-sensitive. I'm nervous. I used to sprout apple seedlings. I probably sprouted 100, and destroyed them all. They are also water-sensitive. They pretty much all perished of root rot. I pretty much let the soil dry out completely and leave it dry for a few days before I water again.

For the time being, it seems to be growing nicely:





My house doesn't have many problem bugs. I get a few ants inside, but if I'm careful with cleaning up the dishes in a timely fashion, they usually don't flock.

I found a few on my plant table and I got nervous... mighta smashed a few... I was trying to think of why they'd have any reason to be up in my bedroom of all places.

Turns out they were only trying to do me a favor:



(These'd be the blooms on my strawberry plants)

Yeah, I don't exactly have any natural pollinators indoors. I guess I might be putting this plant outside sooner than I thought.

Brilliance

There is one southern-facing window in this house. It's in my bedroom.

That's where I keep all the indoor plants, for obvious reasons. Sometimes, in the mornings, I just sit in my chair and enjoy the early sun and gaze at the plants awhile.

It's okay to laugh. I do, too. It's kind of silly. But it creates a feeling of deep satisfaction. No matter what's going on in life, no matter the topsy-turvy-ness of the interplay of emotion and real life, there will still be morning sunshine, a chair, and houseplants.



I don't actively pursue houseplants. Plants just happen to me. All my indoor plants are gifts from friends, or plants sprouted from fruits and veggies I've eaten and encountered, or in the case of the strawberries, plants that just refused to stop growing.

They greet the springtime like an old friend, even from inside. The strawberries are putting out flowers. The pumpkin plant grows three inches every time I see it. Even the reluctant avocado raised up a little green bud over the last few weeks.

I'm hoping for growth and blooming, too. I'd like nothing better than to know, with such humble patience, when's the right time for such unabashed brilliance.