The Swallowtails Are Back!

I was very pleased to see butterflies back in the yard tonight. It had been quite a few weeks since I'd noticed one. The last time was when the yoshino cherries were attracting them. This time, it was my butterfly bush; the same one the moths were on. Even though it was low light, I was able to capture a few nice pictures. My poor butterfly bush has taken a beating in the last few days due to the excessive 100 degree heat, so it's not quite as pretty as usual. Still, the butterflies seem to think it is just fine.

Butterfly Bush Moths

I took these moth shots last week. They feeding all over the butterfly bush that I have in my front yard. I am really fascinated with the proboscises, or tube-like tongue, and how the moth feeds on the flower nectar. I wish I could tell you what kind of moth he is, but I haven't been able to identify him yet. I sent a note into the What's that bug? website hoping that the Bugman can help. I'll keep you updated. I was overwhelmed by the number of moth specifies when I Googled moth identification sites.

Body Paint

I look at these pictures, and I think how wonderful it would be to be a kid with some paint. Sure, it took a few mintues to clean them and the kitchen up, but when I look at these smiling faces, it sure was worth it. They just look so entirely kidlike and delighted with themselves.

Oh my, that's a snake in the kitchen!

Things got kindof exciting at my house last night. Shortly after Patricia and the boys left to go home from an afternoon playdate, and while I was cooking dinner, I looked down at my kitchen floor and saw a black snake. Now, we see these all the time in the yard, but this guy was crawling along the cabinet beneath my kitchen sink! I hollared for Rick and tried to coax the snake into the kitchen garbage can, but he ran under the dishwasher (left in picture). I went about fixing dinner as best as I could considering that he might come back out at any time. While we ate, I ran the dishwasher hoping the vibration would coax him out. He came out, but our attempts to nab him caused him to go back under. Grrrrrr! A short time later, after Rick had to leave, he came out and before I could do anything went under the stove (right in picture) . Neighbors Danny and Mark came over and pulled out the stove, but he was nowhere in sight. For most of the evening I stood vigil waiting for him to come back out. Christine came over and spelled me while I got the boys in bed, then I went back to watching until Rick came home. After he got home, Rick looked all over for him but couldn't find him. We let our large, mixed breed dogs, Sugar and Honey, stay in the kitchen area overnight to see if they could find/get him. No luck. But, as soon as I took them out this morning, he poked his head out from under the stove just for a minute and then went right back under. Darnit! We all had to leave to run various errands, and when Rick got home (first was my plan;-) he was climbing up the wall in the kitchen behind my mother's desk. I didn't think he could climb a flat wall!!! Rick grabbed him with a blanket and carried him outside. Boy am I relieved. Snakes aren't supposed to be territorial, so hopefully he'll be a smart boy and go on about his business. We might not be so nice if he gets inside again! And, he'd better not have a twin!

Haircuts

Well, it was that time again tonight...time to give the boys haircuts. Don't ask me what possesses me to do things like this at 7 o'clock at night after I've been to RTP and back (30 miles each way for work). It just needed done, and I had a moment of inspiration.

I think the cuts turned out fine. Madi and Christine came to visit near the end of Johnny's (2nd) cut. Madi was happy to pose with her cleaned up boys;-)

Bambi

I had a real treat when I came into the IBM parking lot today. A mother dear crossed the road in front of me and waited for her baby to cross behind her. I rolled down my window and got a good picture of the mom and then took a picture 'Bambi' through the front windshield. The baby was afraid and would not run in front of me, so eventually I slowly passed. Hopefully they reunited shortly afterward.

Marbles Kids Museum

The boys and I had another fun day with Patricia, Timmy, and Jacob at the Marbles Kids Museum. All the pics are here. I put a lot of comments with the pictures, so you can get a good idea of what we were up to.

The most fun for me was watching Joey and the kids play mailman. Joey REALLY got into it wearing his costume for over 15 minutes. Johnny even put one on! Patricia wrote a really sweet letter to Jacob, and on his own, he wrote one back to his mom. Break my heart it was so cute!

Johnny also had fun being an ambulance driver and making the red light spin. Timmy had fun playing with the babies and carrying them around all swaddled up.

Everyone really came alive for the water area. Let's just say that the new arrangement allows the kids to have a little too much control of the water:-) The kids were wet and thrilled.

Joey said his favorite thing was building a dam with rocks in the outside water area. He was fascinated (and hoarding the rocks). Thanks to Patricia for getting him started.

All the boys loved the huge pirate ship! We were there for over 15 minutes too. Joey was having a tug of war with the anchor, and the other kids were washing the decks and raising the flag.

The car race area was also fun. Jacob really put some effort into building his race car and trying various models and techniques to build a car that would not only stay together but also go fast. Meanwhile, Joey was thinking his car won every race whether it did or not.

Before we knew it, we'd spent another fun 4 hours!