back in black

"Dut. Duh duh dut. Duh duh dut.

[Meow Mee-ow-ow]

Dut. Duh duh dut. Duh duh dut ...."

[that's a guitar riff]

Jaxson & Zoe--my furry roomies--made their annual springtime debut outside today. See, Jay and Zee aren't "outside kitties," so they get as much of a kick (perhaps more of one?) out of April's sounds, plants, scents, insects, and yes ... even the fussing mocking birds who very vocally warn 'em to keep their distance ... as do I.

Cause I'm back -- yes I'm back -- Well, I'm back ....

inaugural nursery trip {2011}

I think it's safe to say: Spring is here. Yesterday I visited Martha's Bloomers, just up the road in Navasota, TX. A few images from my morning sojourn:

day off + new camera

My dad and his wife recently gifted me with my dream camera. I'm both ecstatic and intimated mucho, (huge learning curve ahead). Since I was off work today [sigh], I decided to drive around the Bryan/College Station metroplex :) and snap some [over a hundred] shots--literally, the first time I'd put my hands on the new toy.

This is not a blog post that few (if any) will want to read/view. And there's zero method to the random collection of these images (apart from the fact that they were all taken today); but I'm throwin' 'em up anyway.

It was a good, lazy day. Slainte.

if you plant it, they will come

I blogged a few weeks ago about the multitude of caterpillar visitors I've been hosting in my backyard. Well guess what? I now have a multitude of butterflies! Crazy how that works, right?

Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, and the occasional Monarch seem to be the popular kids in town; but I've also had several random (ok maybe random is too harsh; I just can't ID them) little guys who "flutter by" regularly. Several have even landed long enough for me to capture 'em via the trusty Kodak (see above and below, for a few).

Anyway, this morning I'm running late for work (a rarity for me) at a time when we happen to be facing multiple, big-time deadlines. Needless to say, it was especially crucial to my sanity that I arrive early ... but that's another post .... So, I'm flying around like a mad woman, fling open the back door, am putting my key in the lock, when I happen to catch a glimpse of something black, moving off to my right. I look over and immediately see this wonder, hanging from my rosemary:


She's pretty amazing, huh? She'd just emerged from her chrysalis and was sunning herself upside down, drying her crumpled wings before beginning her newest "chapter." The whole experience made me stop, take a deep breath, and just stare for awhile. Of course I went back inside and grabbed my camera. That pending proposal burning a whole on my laptop suddenly didn't seem as worthy of my immediate attention.


One of her caterpillar friends happens to be undergoing the same "change" right next to the rosemary; so I snapped a shot of that as well:


Yes, my parsley is a total and complete mess--it's completely caterpillar-chewed and covered with countless additional caterpillars. But as Martha would say, it's a good thing.

A few more shots from two days ago: