Out Of Their Element

I saw an interesting butterfly the other day flitting around the Phlox. I didn't pay much attention, other than to gasp, grin and mumble that he was so pretty.

I couldn't get the thought of him out of my brain since this was one I'd never seen before, and I decided to do a little net hunting.

Interesting - it turned out to be a Papilio palamedes! (another one of those times I wish I had a friggin' camera)

Well, very interesting if you consider that for me to see one, he was way out of his range.

According to the Butterflies and Moths of North America site;

Range: Along Atlantic coast from southern New Jersey (rare) to Florida; west and south along Gulf Coast to central Mexico.

Hmmm ... if it's rare to find one in southern New Jersey, what was he doing way up here?

Another sign of GW and everything moving north?

With the way stranger things have been happening in my own yard lately, I'm keeping an open mind on this one.

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Horticulture Week

It's Coming

Well, against my better judgement it is, but Mother Nature (she's been quite the cranky old bird this year) has her own ideas of how things should be run.

Fall. What is she thinking? 39F? Already? Seriously? Sooo not a good joke.

You'd think my DH would learn...

Him: "Do you have to save everything?"

I wait for the inevitable flustered gesture and accompanying eye roll.

Me: "Ummm, let me think a minute." Polite pause as if I'd really consider such a nonsensical question. "Yes!"

Resigned sigh as he grabs hold of the opposite side of the 8000 pound elephant ear/canna pot.

Ahhh, the annual fall bring-it-all-in dance. Loverly!

Time to pinch, poke, repot, dig, store, debug and dedirt it all. Now, why are husbands/in-laws/neighbors/basic non-gardeners so slow to learn the yearly garden ritual of ItMustAllBeSavedOrTheGardenGodsWillExactTheirRevengeNextYearOnTheEntireYard thing?

And then there's the IMustNotFailToGetTheseSuckersToOverwinterOrI'mATotalFailureAsAGardener rule.

And, the IfIOnlyStartOneCuttingItWillSurelyCroakAndI'llBe'WhateverPlant'PlantlessInSpringSo
80MustBeStarted rule?

Lets not mention the MustStartEverySingleSeedICanGetMyGrubbyLittleHandsOn rule as it isn't quite time for that ... yet. (the saving of seed part is a whole 'nother ritual/rule thing entirely!)

Look, I like plants much (oh, so much) more than I like people. Yeah, so plants are a dime a dozen and cheap. So are people (yes both a dime a dozen and some I know could be considered to lean toward the tacky, cheapish side), but would you throw one of them on the compost pile because they were looking a tad scraggly? Aside from the arrest and conviction thing, I mean.

Heh, thought not.
:)