We're parents again.....

of 5 butterflies!!! One on Sunday and four today!

Butterflies

This is a fascinating process. We would come in from working in the garden to check on them. It's been very windy the past few days so we had to be careful letting them go. On Sunday, Riley & Shelby helped let #1 go. This afternoon #2, #3, #4, & #5 came out and left home. Be sure to check out my pictures. Then go to this site to see (much better) pictures of the process. Enjoy!

Papa and the grandkids

The gang stopped by on Father's Day. We tried to take a picture of "Papa" with all 5 grandkids. It was a challenge to get all five together no less all looking at the camera at the same time! This was the best of four pictures.

William, Riley, Katie, Avery, Shelby....with Papa

Chrysalis...es

If you look carefully, you will see 6 chrysalis. Of course, I didn't think of taking pictures of the caterpillars. One of them was maybe only 1/2 inch long when Thomas found them on the milkweed. He found 6 altogether and brought them in. For a week we fed them fresh milkweed and they grew to 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long. They then climb to the top of our container. Hang down and attach themselves to the lid and begin the process of becoming a chrysalis. It's pretty amazing! This past Sunday, the last of them completed the process. Now we wait for the beautiful monarch butterflies! I'll try to remember to take pictures. It's amazing !!!

What? Nothing about the grandkids!

We've been busy with the grandkids too. Chris & Heather are putting in a garden this year. William likes the dirt. Katie likes the lawn tractor!

05.17.Chris.Heather's garden

Riley & Shelby "hammed it up" for Papa at lunch on Mother's Day.

Silly sisters

Shelby went to camp last week! And had a good week. Hurray!!!!

06.11.Shelby camp

Chris & Heather are working on a burm (spelling?) in their yard. William was helping move the mulch with his truck. He loaded it up, drove it down to the burm and unloaded his load. And the shirt? My sister sent it to William!

06.14.Wm.Katie

Life at Darwin & Norman has been.....busy!

Life has been rolling along. I've been too busy or too pooped to post anything about it. First of all, Spring at Darwin & Norman was (wet, but) beautiful . The trees and tulips and irises bloomed - all in spendiferous color! We've had lots of people stop as they went by and comment on our beautiful flowers.

Spring 09

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Then we went to Oklahoma for a week to see family. We started our trip with a stop near Des Moines to have lunch with my best friend and her husband. We saw their new home before heading on to OK. We stayed with Thomas' brother, Carol, and his wife, Hazel. We also saw sisters, Betty and Janice and Janice's husband, Don. The weather was hot while we were there. We paid our respects to Roberts' and onion-fried hamburgers (and coneys), saw a few of Thomas' classmates, and got involved in Thomas' parents' journals. There are journals from 1929 to the year Mom died, 1986. Thomas talked his sister, Betty (journal keeper), into letting us bring them home to go through them.

04.OK trip

When we got home, the seeds needed to be started!! So that's what I did. When they grew they got put in larger pots. At least we didn't have to wait for the weather to clear to do that!

2009 garden beginnings

Part of the deal with the journals was that we would get them to brothers, Eli & George, to return when they went to Oklahoma. We took the journals we had completed and met Eli and George at Effingham, IL on their way to OK (from Indy & North Carolina). We went to my Mom's and then drove just 45 miles to Effingham. It was good to see them and catch up a little with them.

06.01.George & Eli