Caterpillar Update

Enough of hurricane updates!   let's have a caterpillar update!

The caterpillars rode out the hurricane in the garage and they weren't even aware it was happening.   OMC they grew a lot in 1 1/2 days!     And there are still 8 of them.  You can see 6 in the first picture and a close up of one in the second.   Some seem to be a bit bigger than others  Maybe they are one molt ahead? But we don't even know if they moult or not.   Click to biggify.

Updated:  yes, they do molt.  The stages are called instars.  Details here:
http://www.butterflygardeningandconservation.com/butterfly/st/black.php

Hurricane Update 3

We are still doing fine.      Amazingly, the windiest part was AFTER the hurricane seemed to be over, in the afternoon and evening today.    All our tall trees were lashing about.

Dad put up the hummingbird feeder again this morning as soon as he could get out there.  He secured it by attaching a rope to the bottom and tying it to the deck railing.  The little birdie has been back in spite of the strong wind, and also many other birds to the regular feeders.    Here is how the hummingbird feeder looks the way he secured it:

And here is the stuff Mom and Dad prepared for us before the hurricane, in case we had to leave the house.  The bag contained our food and bowls and water and harnesses.     But now it is all packed away again.

Purrs go out to all the people and animals who were badly affected by this storm.  We were very fortunate and know not everyone was in our  situation.  

Hurricane Update 2

Still fine here - 6:20 am.    Rain is not as heavy as during the middle of the night, and the wind is not as extreme as it may become still.     Still have power: maybe we will keep it!   Wouldn't that be great.    We kitties just got our breakfast.  Yum!

Mom heard a couple of branches falling down in the night - one hit the house, but it is still too dark to see exactly what they look like.

While being relieved that we came through the night OK, our hearts go out to other people impacted by flooding of their homes with all this rain.   We are fortunate that our house is on a hill, and is built fairly high, so our basement is still OK.    But record amounts of rain are causing a lot of flooding, and probably more to come with rising rivers.      We are watching the tv News, anxious about the storm surges in New York as well.  

Sweet story about Dad and the hummingbird(s):  he waited till it was almost dark before taking down the last feeder.     Just after he did so, the little hummer showed up for a feed in the rain.    So he went back on the deck and put the feeder out until it was truly totally dark.    Mom and dad watched the feeder from the kitchen table and saw the birdie come back a couple more times for a long drink.      I wonder how she sheltered fro the night.  

Hurricane Update

Still here folks, as of 2:20 am.     The sounds outside are scary, yet in fact it is almost all RAIN: the wind hasn't even picked up yet.     But from the news reports the wind is certainly coming.    Never seen so much rain before!    We still have power (otherwise we wouldn't be accessing the internet).
Laptop had been wrapped up in plastic and stored safely, but Mom could not stand it any more, because she couldn't stay asleep.  But we will secure it again soon, just in case.
The eye of the hurricane should pass around 8 am, we think.   Dad said if our power was out when it was time for breakfast, they would have PBNJ sandwiches for breakfast so as not to have to open the fridge.   They have our carriers ready and a "go bag" with food and water for us if it were to be necessary to leave the house but who would possibly want to go out in that mess for any reason!!!   Right now Simba is asleep in the basement and Audrey in the kitchen.
Hope to update again in the daytime if there is power.

Caterpillar Update

We have SIX of these guys on the parsley!     None have left for "greener" pastures.      Luckily Mom doesn't care if they eat up the parsley; in fact, they put the parsley in hoping to have this happen.    Mom guesstimates they are a bit more than an inch long at this stage.  (Dad measured: 2cm to 2.2 cm, so less than an inch).
Once the hurricane gets near, they will try to put the plant in the garage.

Let's all have a GRAND purr-in for all the kitties in the path of this monster hurricane.     We expect it to be pretty close to us, and will probably lose power and have trees or branches down, etc. The humans have stocked up on non-perishables (including OUR fuds), filled bottles with water, filled the car with gas, Dad even tested out his chainsaw!   We, of course, haven't got a clue what is ahead.  

Pee Ess: comments are back on.

Pee Pee Ess:  They are now warm and dry in the garage.  But Dad counted EIGHT!    Mom is worried they won't have enough parsley to all grow up and form chrysallises.

Furry Friday

Update on the caterpillars:  They are growing!   And getting spottier.  Will try to post updated pictures soon.

Just a couple of random furry pictures of us today in advance of a visit from hurricane Irene:

Me:  Mom and Dad were playing around with trying to get down to "cat level" with the camera on the kitchen floor.

Audrey:  her new favorite sleeping spot in the corner of the dining room.

Stay safe, kitties.    

Because of the malware issue Spitty the Kitty and Fuzzy Tales have mentioned, comments are turned off here.    We also will not be commenting on your blogs but be assured we are reading your posts, friends.

Critters on Thursday

::Meowwwwww::

You may recall that recently we posted a picture of a Black Swallowtail butterfly close to our potted parsley plant.    Because of our experiences last August, we knew that Black Swallowtail caterpillars will eat parsley so a few days ago Mom went to check the parsley plant to see if possibly the butterfly had laid eggs on it.      She was able to see several really small black caterpillars with a white stripe across the middle.    You may need to click to biggify this picture to see the caterpillar better - it is just below the middle of the photograph.    It was taken on August 18th and is already pretty zoomed.   They were SMALL!

On the 22nd, the humans counted 6 total caterpillars on the plant, which had developed spots and grown considerably, but were still small.  This picture is still zoomed a lot.

We are going to continue to follow these critters, so long as they don't get washed away or blown away by hurricane Irene on Sunday, because we expect to be impacted strongly by the hurricane here.  
For comparison, last August (2010), things were a bit further ahead at this time: the two caterpillars we had were already butterflies by August 28th.    I blogged about the whole process then.    Here are two pictures from LAST year, the first of the caterpillar at its biggest August 15th, and the second of the butterfly that emerged from the chrysalis on the 28th.     We hope to get to see the process again this year, though closer to the Fall like this, the butterflies don't "hatch" until the Spring.

And in other current gardening news, our lazy basil plants that Dad started from seeds are doing a lot better, and Mom even picked 4 small leaves to use in cooking dinner last night!

And last, but definitely not least, the Auction being held to help Sammy Andy Shelly and their family will be ending tomorrow, the 26th.     There are some wonderful things being auctioned such as 2 Peggy Blankies, a catnip quilt, jewelry, cards, kitty frames, a kitty tote, pashminas and shawls, books by Max and Sparkle and Fin, a Petsmart gift card, etc.  Most of the items include shipping!    Click on this link to go to the auction page.    

Dedications to Two Sweet Kitties

Today our post is dedicated to two kitties, one old one and one very young one:

Miss Peach, who lived 18 wonderful years and yesterday went to the Rainbow Bridge.   Fly free and be well and strong again, Miss Peach!    You can read the wonderful poem in tribute to her on her blog here.

Little Beignet, just a kitten, who has developed Vaccine Associated Sarcoma and must have a second surgery today.   His Mom who was to be, Paula, is so sad.   His sister Truffle will still be coming to her forever home with Paula, but not Beignet.   Please read about Beignet on their blog here.  Update:   Dear little Beignet passed away and went to the Rainbow Bridge during his surgery.    Such a new little kitty life, over so soon.

Many purrs from us.  

Manly (?) Monday

Mom thinks I look really silly in this picture - I posted the front view a little while ago, showing the crossed paws.  But look at the back legs and the long stretched out body!  

She calls me her funny bunny.