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Continued social distancing brings new hobbies
Good morning! Happy Wednesday or as I like to say Hump day!
I know things seem to be getting back to normal here in Virginia when it comes to COVID-19, although our governor and his wife both tested positive for COVID last week. Restaurants are back open for full service, so many people have given up on social distancing. Personally, I’m still wearing my mask and limiting what I do.
I wanted to share a new hobby I have picked up this summer!
I have been raising Monarch butterflies!
I have several friends who have raised Monarchs and was hoping that I would be able to raise them this year too!
So, last year I started preparing by planting Milkweed and pollinator flowers in my garden to attract the Monarchs. The monarch butterflies will lay eggs on milkweed plants because these plants are the only source of food for the caterpillars! Normally the monarchs will come around starting in June and will begin migrating back to Mexico in September.
I hadn’t seen many monarchs in my yard this year, so I almost gave up thinking I would have to wait until next year. But one day, I went out in my garden and found that I had over 30 caterpillars in my garden! This was definitely the highlight of my month. So, I ran to the garden center to pick up more milkweed plants (they had already devoured what I had in my garden) and got an enclosure to keep them in.
I’m going to post a little bit about my journey raising them until they all hatch! I’ve had the little guys for about two weeks and most of them have survived aside from 2! Most of my caterpillars have grown and changed into a chrysalis at this time and I have only 4 caterpillars remaining.
If you want to read more about their life cycle, you can check out this website.
It’s become my hobby and gave me something to remain excited about for the last month and I’ve really enjoyed it!
[caption id="attachment_16854" align="alignnone" width="200"]
Ashley’s Monarch Caterpillars[/caption]On Friday, I will share a video that Price made for me after I sent him some video clips of one of my caterpillars making it’s chrysalis!
I will keep sharing pictures with you all if you enjoy them!
Do you guys have any new hobbies you have taken up this summer?
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2 Replies
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It has been so much fun watching you work with this “hobby” Ashley, as Mother Monarch, to give a nice push with Mother Nature and to witness the miracle of caterpillar, to chrysalis, to monarch butterfly. I can’t wait to see them flitting around on plants, ready to fly away and migrate south. Great job, “Mom”!
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Hey @pricewool
Thanks! It has been a lot of fun learning about them and having them to look forward to each day! I am hoping some of them will be emerging from their chrysalis soon! 🙂
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