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| Friday, September 01, 2006 |
| DISASTER! ! ! |
I am devastated. Simply devastated.
Disaster has struck, in the form of the neighbor who does our yard work. He knows not to touch the milkweed in the garden. He has never weedwhacked the area bordering the street - until last evening.
This morning, as is my wont, I went out to count caterpillars and see how the milkweed leaf supply is holding up. You can't imagine my horror when I saw only a ravaged stem  where the small plant bearing the chrysalis stood yesterday. Only a few tattered leaves remained, scattered on the macadam. I picked through them, seeking some bits or perhaps the entire thing. No luck.
I came into the house in tears. Hey, I admit it. What else would you expect? I weep at sappy commercials on TV - and I had invested some emotion, to say nothing of time, in this little creature! And if you can't understand why I mourn the loss of one of these gorgeous butterflies, there's something amiss.
Mistah Midnight came out to examine the area and declared there wasn't enough debris to account for the entire plant. Our search widened beyond the immediate vicinity. We couldn't find where the gardener (that sounds so much better than yard man, doesn't it?) had tossed the stalk, or any of the other yard detritus.
I couldn't go over, all red-eyed and weepy, to ask him what he did with the trash. (My neighbors already think I'm a bit odd, since a while ago I trapped for eight months for a runaway indoor cat - I'm sure they phrase it a little more colorfully than that.) Mistah Midnight, bless his heart, did, but the guy wasn't home.
So, the chrysalis is gone. Probably bagged up and tossed in the back of the truck and on its way to a landfill somewhere. I just hope the bag lands on top and breaks open, so there's an off-chance the thing hatches.
While I was emoing all over the place, I decided that I couldn't just abandon the monarchs and my reports here on my blog. Through my tears, I began casting around for where else the caterpillars might have gone to pupate.
I'll post again later with a report. I've got to wash my face and help with the kitchen renovations. And yes, I know I'm evil! :-) But that report doesn't belong under the same heading as this post. So I'll be back later.
Hugs,
Liddy |
posted by Liddy Midnight @ 9:07 AM  |
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| 8 Comments: |
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Oh nooooooo. I'm so sorry to hear about that. (Hugs)
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oooooohhhhhh Liddy ~ I'm so sorry
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Thanks, Jennifer. It was traumatic because I really wanted to follow one caterpillar through the stages of growth, in pix.
Hugs,
Liddy
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Thanks, Mechele. I'm stressed anyway, what with the kitchen all torn up, the house a mess and dust everywhere (that's my one allergy, so this is not a good month!), the renovations meaning I'm being pulle din yet another direction and I think it all got together and boiled over. I'm better now!
Hugs,
Liddy
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Thanks, ChristyJan! I'm feeling much better now. Particularly in light of what I found when I searched. ;)
Hugs,
Liddy
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Oh Liddy how sad,I'm the same way. The Hallmark ones are the ones that get me most though,lol.
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The Folgers commercials used to make me bawl. LOL Isn't it weird what strikes that nerve?
Hugs,
Liddy
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Awww...hugs!