Chipping Sparrow Nest

This Chipping Sparrow nest is in my neighbor's very young pine tree. The first picture is from a couple of days ago, and the second picture is from yesterday. They are so tiny!

We have bluebird eggs!!

Earlier this week, I saw a female bluebird go into the nest box on our fence. John took a peek, and there are 5 eggs inside! I'm not sure when the eggs were laid, but we'll be checking on them until little birds fledge.

We can clearly see 4 eggs, and the fifth is up close to the front of the nest. In this picture, we can just barely see the fifth one! I'm not tall enough to see in the nest, so I live vicariously through the pictures. It's just another reason I'm glad I married a tall man!

Monarch Caterpillar Pupating

I was able to get some pictures of the caterpillar pupating last week. This is the link to the pictures: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5aqICw. The time that passed during the pictures was less than 5 minutes! Emma Rose was totally engrossed in the process and watched with me the entire time!

Monarch Caterpillar

Earlier this year, I ordered some monarch butterfly eggs for my girls. I wanted them to see the beginning of the life cycle for the butterfly. We had 12 eggs, and 4 hatched. One died the same day it hatched, and the next disappeared about 10 days after hatching. We ended up with 2 healthy caterpillars. Last week, they pupated! We now have 2 chrysalises hanging in our butterfly cage.

I took daily pictures of the growth of the caterpillars and posted pictures to my family blog. It just occured to me that this is the perfect place to share with you all, too! My girls loved looking at the caterpillars every day. My oldest was watching the last caterpillar pupate with me, and she thought it was pretty fascinating, too. It's a great science lesson for them!

I was able to take pictures of the second caterpillar pupating. I ended up taking quite a few pictures, and the time that passed during the picture series was less than 5 minutes. This was one of the very coolest things I have ever seen! This is the link to the pictures: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5aqICw.

I'm hoping that I am able to take pictures of the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, and that should happen next week. The first is due on Tuesday, and the next one is due on Thursday or Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The picture below is one of the chysalises in the cage. They are really beautiful!