Voracious Appetites

The HHD's are 18 days old. They are consuming mass quantities of sweet gum leaves. I moved them to a 10 gallon tank to accommodate their rapid growth and their food.

 Reminder of what they looked like on day 1

 Day 18

 Interesting development of their "horns"

 The underside of the HHD.

 Little suction cups on the underside of their bodies help them cling to their food source.

Too Cool 4 U

Me and my pup were waiting in the parking lot at the groomers today.  Doesn't she look like a cool dudette in my sun glasses?  Yep we were early and killin' time.

Cicada's Anyone?

The last time I can recall seeing cicada's in any number was in  the summer of 2004 (X "Great Eastern Brood") when we grilled them on the barbie in a aluminum pie tin and dipped them in chocolate syrup and served them up to the brave and adventurous at my grandma's 90th birthday party. Whose grandma wouldn't be proud of her grand kids (there's 28 of us) for preparing such a delicacy for her birthday?  She was positively tickled. Any way we've noticed them out and about in number in recent weeks. (There are annual cicadas and periodic cicadas by the way). This one cracked open its larval exoskeleton and emerged last night. I think its coloration is beautiful although its not dry yet! Too bad we didn't have some chocolate syrup. JK  Here's is a link to some recipes. A note of caution. Eat them at your own risk; some people are allergic and should not eat them at all as a reaction is possible.

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

This caterpillar was climbing up the brick front of our house this evening. We interrupted its ascent to take photographs and move it to a more suitable location to prepare for pupation. The ADM can be cream, white or yellow-its most distinct feature are the five long black hair pencils or tufts. They feed on many different trees including hickory, maple, basswood and box elder just to name a few. Take care in handling as their hairs can cause an allergic reaction resulting in a stinging sensation and rash on some individuals. 

The Queen...

You might recall that some time ago I mentioned Daisy was having some pain issues with her legs. We bought her some steps to get up and down from the bed. She refused to use them. Don't know why. In the meantime the vet said she has to stop jumping up and down from furniture as she has some knee deterioration that is typical in older dogs but right now the condition doesn't require surgery and we want to keep it that way.  We went out shopping (gasp-I know) the other day to look for an ottoman thinking that she might be more likely to use it than the steps as it would only be one level up to the bed.  Marc's, a discount store nearby, wanted $75 for one that I thought was poorly made.  We looked around and didn't find anything cheaper or that matched our bedroom decor so Andrew made this one for $20. I got the fabric (on clearance rack) and the 2 in cushion at JoAnn's. So far Daisy is reluctantly using it. She would much rather wake me up at night and have me get out of bed and pick her up.  Not happening.  We are in training mode at the moment and nobody in this house is happy about it or getting any sleep. LOL  She's squinting in the picture because she doesn't like the flash and because she has dry eye-recently diagnosed and requiring drops 3 x daily for the rest of her life. Welcome to the world of the aging dog. Andrew tells her it's a good thing she's cute. I tell him not to say that!

Baby Pip

Pip's baby from her June litter was waiting for me in the rabbitry when I got home from work this afternoon. We have yet to decide on a name. LOL  The baby is getting more and more tame and is frequently seen in the rabbitry throughout the day.  I last saw Pip two days ago. On July 25th I noticed that she had a nasty wound on her neck with an engorged tick attached. I so wanted to reach out and yank the tick off of her.  You can tell she has been clawing at her neck.  The other day I though she looked fatigued. Andrew said the tick should drop off soon.  The heat is probably getting to her as well. Baby Pip also looks like he has a couple ticks on his snout. Not sure where they have been hanging out in the interim but they aren't getting any ticks from our yard.

Baby Pip at about 9 weeks old

Growing Like Weeds

So every day I walk down to the corner to pick sweet gum leaves.  My neighbor, who was sitting on his porch this afternoon, finally asked.  He said, "I saw Andrew yesterday and now you today." I laughed and told him we were feeding caterpillars.  These are from day nine. They haven't changed much today.