A Week in Pictures (#10)

Cribbage (Board Game) 11/23/2012

We played Cribbage over Thanksgiving holidays. I forgot our board; so, we borrowed my Sister-in-law’s board to play. This board is not ours. Ours actually is bigger – it has four rows (instead of three). Everyone in the family played at some point or another. It is a fun game and a wonderful way to sit together with family and friends. The last game we played was unique as we played in teams of three. It was interesting and the best part was that we all sat just played cards.

Morning at the Lake 11/24/2012

We went to the lake. I got up as the sun was rising and it was just absolutely beautiful.

Christmas Tree 11/25/2012

We put up the tree -- first time in over five years! Opening up the box of ornaments was like Christmas. Wait, it is Christmas!

Beads and Sequins 11/26/2012

Ornament kit. Crafts. Enough said.

Chrysalis 11/26/2012

I was thrilled upon discovering this Chrysalis. I am hoping to witness the butterfly emerging from its hibernation. I have been checking on it daily (along with the other two I have found).

Monarch Butterfly 11/26/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I was outside with Gracie and, as always, I had my camera with me. I didn’t expect to take pictures though. But, this critter fluttered by practically in front of my face. It was big and beautiful. When it landed on some yellow flowers, I dropped Gracie’s leash to see if I could capture a picture or two. I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to discover it was a Monarch butterfly. It posed for me fabulously and was a very hungry fellow.

Beaded Christmas Ornament 11//22/2012

This is an ornament I made from the beads and sequins mess pictured above. I really love how it turned out. I am currently working on a second star and it is almost finished.

A Week in Pictures (#8)

A Face Only a Mother Can Love 11/9/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

When Dan was leaving on this morning, I spied a tiny moth on the driveway. I decided to get down on his/her level to take macro pictures. My goodness! That is one ugly face!

Dewdrops on the Head 11/10/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}.

I went out this morning and spied quite a few caterpillars out and about this morning. This one collected tons of dewdrops on his/her head.

Garden Spider: Orb Web Weaver (part I) 11/11/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I was out front with the cats who were required to stayed on the front porch as I did not want to do much today. I decided to explore just a tad while keeping an eye on the cats and spied this tiny little spider in the grass. I knew it was an Orb Web Weaver (Garden Spider); but, it was missing its trademark signature on the web. I zoomed in on the white object and it is actually a very tiny grasshopper he/she is feeding upon.

Bonus Image: Garden Spider: Orb Web Weaver 11/11/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

While taking pictures, I must have scared the spider because it dropped down to the ground and played dead. This is what the spider looks like on its other side – kind of boring, huh?

Orb Web Weaver (part II) 11/12/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I checked on this friend of mine this morning and discovered that he/she added its trademark signature on the web. This is what I expected to see the first time around.

Gracie 11/13/2012

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My little girl was acting very bored and depressed this morning. Individual attention and toys did not help. So, I asked if she wanted to go outdoors and showed the harness to her. Her whole body perked and she sat there patiently while I put the harness on her. She was so happy to be outdoors. She would wiggle her butt, dash and pounce on moving grass. She even went after grasshoppers!

FYI: I got her the harness because she has brain issues. Whenever she panics, she would run forgetting where the door is located. We could potentially lose her. I never had a cat like her before. All my other cats would head straight for the door. Not my Gracie. I tried a normal harness and it just did not work. So, I purchased this type of harness and it works beautifully. I do not worry about her hurting herself should she panic and run away. With a collar, she could potentially choke and/or hang herself on the leash. So, this harness gives me peace of mind that she will not hurt herself should she panic and dash with the leash.

Caterpillar 11/14/2012

When I first spied one of these caterpillars, the first word in my mind that popped up was “devil”. So, now it is the Devil Caterpillar to me whenever I see one. Ha! You should see what it does when it feels threatened. I was so surprised when I first witnessed what it did. And yes, I took pictures and will show those in a later post. Anyway, I do know this critter will most likely turn into a swallowtail butterfly.

Chrysalis (I hope) 11/15/2012

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I am keeping an eye on the caterpillars around the house and the detached garage in hopes of catching one turn into a chrysalis. What are the odds that one of them would turn up underneath the windowsill on our front porch? This is day one as it was a regular caterpillar the night before.

I am hoping to see it turn into an Estigmene Albida Moth. There are plenty of these types of caterpillars around here and in my research; these caterpillars turns into moths. The darker caterpillars are very similar to the ones that into the moth I mentioned. I will constantly check on this chrysalis in hopes of witnessing the change.

PS I took a picture 1 ½ hours earlier as the sun was rising; so, it is a very poor picture. However, I needed to make sure it was the caterpillar I was keeping any eye on as it had moved from its original spot the night before. You can clearly see the caterpillar in the picture link. I was amazed to see it densely covered about 1 ½ hours later when I went back out to take some good pictures of the chrysalis.

Thanksgiving Holiday in the States is November, 22, 2012. For everyone who celebrates this holiday, may you have a wonderful day!