The End of the Season

Hi everyone,

Well, the weather is getting cooler. The leaves are starting to change, and it's time to say goodbye to the butterflies.

Overall I was thrilled with the results from the garden this year. I thought I'd have more success with the spicebush swallowtails. I did have quite a few caterpillars, but they seemed to fall victim to a lot of predators. I only saw four chrysalises, two hatched out successfully, and one is in hibernation for the winter. I'll look forward to his emergence in the Spring.

The monarchs were a resounding success. With only three scraggly milkweeds, I had monarch chrysalises coming out of my ears. I also successfully raised two caterpillars, got to see one hatch out of the chrysalis, held several butterflies on my hands, and generally had a ton of fun with these royal wonders.

I got some great pictures, including this one of a monarch just moments before hatching out. And this other of one only minutes out of the shell. I also had the privilege of watching several first flights. So to my little monarchs, good bye, and good luck on your long journey to Mexico. I'm glad you started such a wonderful adventure with me, and I hope to see many of your kin back in the garden next summer.

Alas, I didn't have much success with the black swallowtails. Next spring, I'll plant some fennel, and try to keep the wasp presence down. I only found two caterpillars on my parsley. Compared to the troop of caterpillars on my parsley back in Florida, that's pretty pathetic. The clouds of cabbage whites and silver spotted skippers were a lot of fun. The skippers really loved the sedum I'd planted as it bloomed late in the season, and also enjoyed the impatiens.

I also had a regular hummingbird visitor, a little female ruby throat. I hope she had a nest somewhere near. I felt very satisfied feeling like I was supporting her the natural way, and not just with a feeder. I'm hoping to put out more nesting boxes and feeders for the birds as fall sets in. This house isn't very good for bird watching, as it turns out. None of the windows have good views of places where I could put a feeder. I'm not sure how to fix that.

There has been one critter that has taken up residence. She's a little unusual. Check this out. When we first moved to Ohio seven years ago, we noticed one little white squirrel about a block away from our house. Well, that little squirrel has been pretty busy, because now there are three of them hanging out on my street. And with the way this one has been awfully cuddly with the chattering gray guy in the tree in the front, well, we just might have some more fluffy little white squirrels bouncing around our yard.

In writing news, I'm moving in some new directions. One of the hardest things for a new author to do is find her audience. I'm trying as hard as I can and doing what I can to write the stories I want to write, and that people want to read. In these times, it's really hard to gain a foothold in the marketplace.

It may be a while before I have another book on the shelf. I'm doing my best to remedy that, while at the same time balancing what is right for me, for my career, and for my family. The good news is, there are some new things in the hopper.

Hopefully I'll be able to tell you more about them soon. I'm glad to have all of you as readers. Thank you for your support and for sticking by me as I try to build my career. Your support means everything to me, and I hope you stick with me for a little bit.

I promise, whatever comes next, it will be fun, and it will be exciting.

Happy reading,

Jess