Sunflowers? Zinnias? Sunnias? Zinflowers?? WTF???

These things are HUGE!! They are 5' tall and the blossoms are up to 5" diameter. It looks like a zinnia and a sunflower combined. Who knows! I planted poppies here!!

Two Cocoons!

This was the "baby":

You can't tell, but there is a noticable size difference between the one that spun his cocoon first and the "baby". I hope the first one survives...He is definitely smaller!

The field where I found them...plenty of milkweed!

Hibiscus and Bean Plants

The Caterpillar's Saga Continues...

I guess the big one was ready! He was hanging upside down before I went to bed...

This is the "little" one...he's doubled in size in 1 day!

This morning when I woke up and looked inside I see this!! A cocoon!

The "little" one is still eating and pooping like mad!!

What the Heck?? :)

Its a common ButtonBush! Looks more like a pincushion to me...

Apparently butterflies love them. The only reason there weren't any on this one was because it was raining.
Photographed in South Burlington, Vermont by my Dad.

Yay!! Caterpillar Season is Here!

I decided to take a walk this evening and on a whim went to a patch of Milkweed (the same one I found the Monarch Caterpillar on last year) and the first bush I looked at had TWO!! A tiny one and a bigger one! I took them both and put them in my eyeglasses case along with a bunch of leaves for them and brought them home!

See the baby one in the left side of the pic? The bigger one is underneath the same leaf on the right.

Closeup of the baby in his/her new home

The bigger one. I hope the cats don't get into them!

Fred

On Sunday (Father's Day) we had a barbecue at my parents' house. On the screened in porch was this guy! He had a ripped wing (lower right quadrant) and we figured he was a goner. I picked him up and he stuck his tongue out and started sucking up the water droplets that were on my hand from holding a cold can of Diet Coke. He drank some more off of a wet paper towel that I sat him on. He sat next to me during dinner and I was all set to take him home!!

My Mom spotted these guys a few minutes after dinner! They look identical to the big one but are quite tiny. We thought maybe it was a Mommy and Baby butterfly situation until we remembered...baby butterflies are CATERPILLARS!! haha!!
Just a coincedence I guess!