Monarch start to finish life cycle

From the precious tiny white egg on the underside of a common milkweed leaf,to the hatching and first flight. Totally incredible.

Cycle of a monarch

A monarch caterpillar is a threatened species because of habitat loss. Her main source of life the common milkweed plant is disappearing.People shop them down.Pull them out. And along with them the tiny eggs of the monarch or the little caterpillars. Gone. So here is what you have to do. PLANT. Plant milkweed in your gardens. It is beautiful. It is the only plant a monarch will lay her eggs on. The only plant her caterpillar can feed on. I saved a few one year from being destroyed. I watched the stages. The tiny white egg so small you can hardly see it. I watched the caterpillars as they ate and grew,turned into a beautiful chrysalis and hatched into a gorgeous butterfly. One we hardly see anymore. The most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. Here are a few shots from the cycle of a monarch. I seen to be missing the egg in this series. But if you look very carefully on the underside of the milkweed plants leaves you may see a tiny little white egg. Be very careful. Usually one egg per plant. They are little eating machines when they emerge into the caterpillar stage.

                        As the caterpillars grow they shed their skin leaving little piles of skin behind.

              A chrysalis is formed,a beautiful peace of art with a golden ring. This one is well hidden.

   The monarch caterpillar is beautiful  & full of stripes. Because milkweed is a toxic plant. The plant is ingested by the monarch and in turn makes the monarch inedible to would be predators. It is kind of like a win win situation for this butterfly.

   The monarch caterpillar is a real eating machine. I had to find fresh clean milkweed leaves for them every other day.

                                 When the chrysalis is getting ready to hatch it turns black.

                     You can see the monarch butterfly inside as clear as day. Amazingly beautiful.

            Look at that golden ring now. And every marking on the butterfly within.Incredible.

 When they emerge a slight shivering of the chrysalis happens and little by little the butterfly comes out,as the blood is forced to the wings and into the body it drops tiny pink droplets of blood until the process is complete. This is normal and nothing to worry about. It takes a lot of energy to emerge and come to the life of the butterfly stage.

The butterfly gains its strength and flies away to its new life. And this is what it leaves behind. Amazingly beautiful clear chrysalis.

Turtle rescue

Sometimes when it rains it pours. Another turtle I found on a busy road hit by a car. I thought she had had it but as I drove her to the hospital,she stuck her head out. Her shell was mangled and bleeding. Her head stuck inside. But as we drove she came to life. She actually laid 8 little eggs while in hospital and was rehabbed and released months later. Another success story and another turtle goes on to bring more into the world.

To the Rescue

Sorry these loaded in backwards but this is a turtle my husband spotted on the side of the road. He drove by and saw this lump that looked funny. So turned around and went back. ( I have trained him well ). Sure enough it was a turtle upside down. On its back it was vulnerable to predication and dehydration unless it could right itself again. But this turtle had been slightly hit by a car throwing her and tipping her. But she was alive. He called me and told me he had her and what do I do now. So I told him what to do and I called Karwartha Turtle Trauma Center   in Peterborough when I got home. She was stable and although injured it was not life threatening. She spent the night in a nice warm bin in our bathtub. And first thing in the morning went for a long drive. 11 months later she was ready to come home. It is always an amazing feeling when you get to release a life back into the wild were they belong. There are no words. It is just amazing. 

                          She looked around as if to say ( thank you ) I'm home and free again.

                 She will have a nick out of her shell but it is all healed and she is ready to go.

                                                                   The release.

                                                Dr. Carstairs examining our little turtle.

Winter can be cruel

A few winters ago while out birding we came across this pour Canada goose held hostage to big block of ice molded to its leg. There was blood and it could not move. How long had it been there no one knows. It was scared,hungry and cold. We managed to get it with a net but damage was done. It had to be euthanized. Its little leg had been broken right off and just hung there in its struggle to survive. Probably got frozen in one night as the ice froze around it while sleeping. Maybe it was old or young or sick. Most times they will fly off when ice starts forming. But whatever the reason. It was a horrible thing for this life to endure and suffer through. When safe to do so please help a life in need.

Spring brings many surprises

Every spring mother raccoon's are looking for a place to have their young. This was the perfect place. But it didn't need to happen. It is up to you to secure your belongings so that this can not happen. Covering your stuff before winter and making sure that there is no way a raccoon can get in should be part of your fall maintenance. Ladders up,covers on and secure and no shelves other obstacles they can use to climb in all far away. They are clever and they are in need of safe warm places to bear their young ones. It is not their fault if they get in. Never trap raccoon's in the spring through summer as they may and most likely will have a family who will be left behind to starve. That is a horrible death. And no animal should have to die that way. It is your responsibility to keep your belongings safe and secure. We all share our space with wildlife. Maybe I should say they share their space with us. Humans are fast advancing on wildlife habitat taking so much they have no other choice but to learn to live with us. It is not an easy life for them. People need to learn how to live with them. Not by destroying them but by common sense.They are the innocent victims in this world. There is nothing more that makes my day than to see wildlife surrounding me. It gives me life,enjoyment and laughter. It heals my soul.

Cruelty

No matter what we do there is always going to be those out there than life means nothing. I found 2 big snappers in Minesing one summer. I reported them,both shot more than once. But unless you see it happen there is nothing we can do. A senseless loss of life. Snappers have such a bad wrap. But truth be told. They are an important part of the balance of our wetlands. They tell us if it is healthy,they clean up carrion,and yes they take some life away at very young ages. But if they didn't we would be over run. It is all part of that balance we must keep. And no better way to do that than allowing mother natures creatures to do their job. That is what they were put on this earth to do. We may not like it but that is the way it is suppose to be.