Wild and Crazy

Had a much-needed hike and a bit of "forest bathing" with my nature group this morning.  We saw birds, dragons, snakes, skinks and some interesting flora along the way, but this was my choice for today.  I am not sure what kind of caterpillar this one is, not one I've seen before.  (I will be back to fill in an ID when I get one.)  It was his face, however, and his gloriously long hair (setae) that won the day for me. UPDATE: confirmed that this is The Laugher, an Owlet Moth caterpillar - aptly named 

My other favorite sighting today was several baby Five-lined skinks, the only lizard species we have in northern New Jersey.  Worth a look - click HERE - just to see it's brilliant blue tail.

In the process of wandering the trails, I walked off a good amount of stress that I'd built up yesterday.  Much needed.  Then, I was so tired when I got home that I did something I rarely do - I took a decadently long nap!  

Tomorrow, happily, the humidity that has been so brutal this week, will drop and so will our temps.  Yay.

On the Monarch front...I had 7 caterpillars go to chrysalis today and 3 or 4 more queued up.  And I discovered where one of the "garden caterpillars" had wandered off to ... about 15 feet up the side of our house on the siding!  He was hanging in his J position this morning and had gone to chrysalis by the time I got home.  Too high for me to remove it, so I'll just keep an eye on it.  I must say that this is a first - I've never seen a caterpillar go that high up to pupate.

I can't promise that you won't see another hummer tomorrow, but it depends on what else comes along.  

xo
Debbi