Tiger Swallowtail / Butterfly Garden

My yard assistant (which is to say, LGK) and I decided it was time to put all of the fun stuff that we put away over winter BACK into the butterfly garden out front. This was originally Barb's butterfly garden, and then I added bulbs for Ellen, and then I put in a couple of plants from my parents' yard, including three little lilacs that are small but still doing fine.

My yard assistant climbed into my yard cart - hey, it SEEMED like a box, of sorts - and lay on top of the bag of soil. In the end, he abandoned yard work to go chase chipmunks. There's one that's been running in and out of the drain spout, and LGK has been setting up a post nearby, hoping to catch it. (So far, no success.)

The pink flamingos went back into the garden, along with the two big metal critters I got at Ocean State last year, and those cool and colorful twisty metal support stakes. I added the new bird bath that T. Tiger tried out last week, and I filled it up with water. The pink flowers from the graveyard are there too. I put in the new flag that my sister Barb's friend Barb sent me, its message: As long as I breathe, you'll be remembered.

And finally, I planted a few sea holly bare root plants, and tossed some blue Himalayan poppy seeds on top (they spent several weeks in the fridge before that). Let's see if they grow! It's all just a grand experiment, isn't it? You may see my garden with all its pretties in the extras.

As I was taking a break from my two hours of yard work, I saw a huge yellow butterfly feasting on the pink azalea blooms. I snapped some photos and the one you see above is probably my best. Look how fuzzy its wings are!

Meet Papilio glaucus, the eastern tiger swallowtail. The blue scattered across the ends of its hind wings leads me to say that it's female. She has not visited in a little while, but I bid a gracious hello to my Big Sister Barb.

For my photo above, in which my big sister says hello, I've got Lionel Richie and Jennifer Nettles, with Hello. And for my garden in the extras, I've got Savage Garden, with I Want You.


P.S. We were saddened by the news of the passing of Pope Francis which we learned first thing in the morning on this day. Here is where I admit that I have long been a Methodist girl with a serious Pope-crush. While he was not by any means a perfect man, I recognized in this Pope, with his insistence upon love and kindness, the true spirit of Christ. May we ALL follow his example and find ways to be champions of inclusion for the vulnerable and marginalized. They need us now more than ever. Go well, sir.