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| Giant Swallowtail Butterfly |
Today, as I walked around the garden, I happened to see something on the side of the garden wall:
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| Butterfly on the Wall |
I wasn't sure how close it will let me approach it, so I took photos, with my cell phone camera, at each step, in case it flew away before I could get close:
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| A little closer |
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| Another step or two closer |
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| Closer still |
Until I took the close up that I posted at the very top of this post. It fluttered its wings a little but, it didn't fly away. I think it was just resting, or, maybe, extracting some mineral from the cement blocks that make up the wall.
The reason for its visit is close at hand:
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| Orange Tree |
As far as I know, this is the first time I've seen one of these butterflies in my garden! I might have easily missed it, too, if I hadn't been outside, checking on my flowers! Definitely one of today's joyful activities!
In addition to photographing visiting butterflies, I did a load of laundry, today, watered the garden, and drove to the post office, because the birthday card I mailed to my sister was returned to me for additional postage! It wasn't overweight, though, and, at the post office, the workers there couldn't figure out why it stated it needed additional postage! I wondered if it was because I had written, "Hand cancel, please" on it, because I thought the rhinestone-like things I had stuck on the front on the card might cause the card to get stuck in their machines. But, I was told that there is no additional charge for that! They just hand cancelled it while I was there and put it in the outgoing mail basket for me.
I had eaten some of the bulgur salad for my brunch, today, followed by an orange. For dinner, I made a chicken and pasta stir fry (using spaghetti instead of noodles):
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| Dinner: Chicken and Pasta Stir Fry |
Today, I am grateful for:
- Butterflies!
- Garden flowers
- Helpful post office workers
- A relaxed day
- Sunshine
How was your Wednesday? Have you seen Giant Swallowtail butterflies in your garden?
I haven't seen many butterflies yet this year. The buddleia bush I thought may have died has proved me wrong and is showing lots of new growth so I'm expecting plenty of butterflies to be visiting!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, you are sure to have many butterflies visit your garden when the buddleia is in flower. It's also know as the butterfly bush, over here, for that reason. :)
DeleteI have swallowtails but not giant ones. Now I know why. They like to lay their eggs in citrus trees and there are none of those around here. A butterfly sighting is always a treat. :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's time to get that miniature orange tree growing in a pot, again, Live and Learn. :) I was so thrilled to see this particular butterfly! I need to spend more time in the garden and discover what else might be visiting!
DeleteWhat a healthy orange tree and such pretty blossoms! Yes, the butterflies are so pretty but they have to eat also and the caterpillar stage is not good! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. The orange tree is looking really well, this year, after all the rain we've had this winter! Yes, the butterflies are pretty and daintily sip nectar from the flowers, but the caterpillars will eat everything they can! But, without the caterpillars, we can't have the butterflies, can we?
DeleteHi Bless, That butterfly is gorgeous! I love its markings. I don't think I've seen that species in my garden. I did some knitting, yoga, Pilates, and errands yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful, isn't it? I think it's the first time I've seen one, myself. Maybe, as your citrus trees continue to grow, they might visit your garden too. :)
DeleteI did some knitting, too, yesterday! I should look into yoga - I took one class, several years ago, and enjoyed it. Actually, I should just get into the habit of doing some stretching - just that should be helpful to me, at this stage!
I love your recent butterfly sightings. As soon as the lantana starts blooming I should get a fresh new crop of them, but until then it is still a tad early for them here.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. Butterflies do like the lantana, don't they? I hope yours attract a lot of butterflies when it blooms.
DeleteWhat a pretty butterfly. There are lots of butterflies here, especially Monarch butterflies and little white butterflies.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I saw a hummingbird in the yard for the first time. :)
I, too, see the occasional hummingbird, but I haven't tried to photograph them. I think it would be very difficult with my cell phone camera. But, one never knows!
DeleteA Valentine’s card we mailed to our son was returned to us THREE times! Nothing special about the card and no thick embellishments. Each time I took it back to the post office counter. Finally we realized they stamped the bar code on the back of the envelope and the card was sorted for delivery by the RETURN address (ours) that was beside the bar code!!! Mystery solved!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to solve that mystery, Carolyn! The card didn't come back, today, so, hopefully, it will be delivered to the right address by the end of the week! My sister must be wondering why I didn't send a card, this year!
DeleteHow exciting to find the Giant Swallowtail butterfly! We often get the smaller ones in the summer and they really are pretty.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had some spaghetti, even if it did up your carbs intake. Pasta is too good to go without forever!
I was so happy to see a Giant Swallowtail! Yes, it was nice to have some spaghetti in my stir-fry. This is my last box of spaghetti. Once it is over, I will buy whole wheat pasta, as that might be a little better for me.
DeleteWow! Wonderful photos of the butterfly. What a lovely sight to see in the garden! I shall be hopeful to see something so colourful soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I'm sure you'll have plenty of butterflies visiting your garden once spring arrives and the flowers bloom. :)
DeleteThat butterfly was so striking against the wall. Thank you for sharing the pic. I'm definitely looking into the Armenian salad as you can get gluten free couscous and that is similar to bulgar wheat.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was able to take a close up photo of the butterfly and share! Yes, my neighbor said one could substitute couscous. I hope you are able to make it - I found recipes and videos online showing how to make it.
DeleteWhat a lovely butterfly. I seen moths as big as that, but no butterflies. Last year however, I did notice a rise in numbers of Monarchs from previous years. That was a lovely sight.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad there was no need for extra postage. I have not always been so lucky. But what an inconvenience to have to make a return trip to the post office to find out there was nothing wrong with it.
Your stir fry dinner looks scrumptious....very healthy and colourful. Did you use whole wheat spaghetti? I know you were planning to buy some.
Susan, at first, from a distance, I wondered if it was a moth, but, when I got closer, I could see it was a butterfly. Certainly the biggest butterfly I have ever seen!
DeleteIn the future, I shall insert a plain piece of paper over the embellishments and then I won't need to worry about having it getting stuck in a machine, etc. and asking it to be hand canceled.
Thank you! No, I used regular pasta because I still had a box of it left and I haven't bought any whole wheat pasta, yet. I'm "eating down" the current stores, so to speak!
My neighbor "raises" Monarchs to release! She and another friend order the little infants, and have a net "house" to let them grow in, so they get to see all the stages! (You can tell I don't remember ANY of the stages, but they are beautiful when they are full grown!)
ReplyDeleteI love stirfry, and was hoping you'd give your recipe. Do you use fresh vegetables or frozen? I hadn't thought of using spaghetti in it!
Hi Bluebird49, I read that the swallowtail butterflies can be raised fairly easily, as well. I raised what turned out to be a moth from a caterpillar, once, when my daughter was a child, so she could watch it develop, but that is all.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I don't really have a stir-fry recipe - but, what I do is, I cut up whatever meat/chicken/seafood I want and vegetables I have on hand (I tend to use fresh vegetables, for the most part, but, sometimes, toss in a can of baby corn or water chestnuts, etc.), saute them in some vegetable oil and sesame seed oil, and add soy sauce. I really don't measure my quantities, but, this time, I used most of a piece of chicken breast, a large carrot, a handful of snowpeas, and a handful of cooked spaghetti.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting; I look forward to hearing from you, again.