I had a surprise visitor to my garden yesterday! The kids found him/her munching on some milkweed while they were helping me deadhead bachelor’s buttons. After consulting my friend Chali, who raises butterflies, monarchs in particular, on what to do, I checked today to see if it was still there and it was! So, I cleaned out my betta tank and made it all caterpillar-friendly and according to Chali, Jaun/ita should change into a chrysalis sometime very soon.

I’ve been leaving milkweed in my garden rather than pulling it every year for exactly this reason, but this is the first year I’ve attracted any caterpillars. I AM SO EXCITED! Hopefully I can capture pics of him/her changing, but at the very least, I’ll take more pics of the chrysalis when it’s formed.