This was a caterpillar SO gave me right after I came out of the hospital. For once, my cat didn't DIE on me after hanging in a J. She (figured out she was a she only once she came out of chrysalis) went into chrysalis on Sept 14th, and my quick math said should might could emerge on Sept 24th, a full Moon Day!!
I eagerly and carefully waited :)
On Friday Sept 21th the chrysalis changed from green to black! SOON!
On Saturday the 22nd, aka Hobbits Day for both Bilbo's and Frodo's birthdays, the chrysalis turned clear and I could see the orange wings folded inside. I watched and researched how to know "when" and waited. My iphone camera hasn't been working lately, it freezes up and pixelates. But the front-facing camera works, and I decided to test for the first time a time-lapse. While I was testing, NO JOKE, the chrysalis cracked open!!! That really happened! So I got a few short videos of my butterfly emerging. Once determined to be a female, she was christened Frodo :)
Texted SO, send picts to Kaitlynn, imaged more, and waited happily while she pumped up her wings and started her "new" life.
SO suggested taking her out to a warm place, so I took her to the front yard. She walked on my hand and my arm while in the sun. SO came by later and took me shopping for my 3rd whiskey barrel planter :) I'm gonna have ALL the butterflies next summer.
Frodo hung out on the fence and in my 2nd planter with the white butterfly bushes, but didn't fly off. Some concern about this. I brought inside overnight in case the temps dropped.
Sunday morning I took her back outside to the orange milkweed. She still didn't take off, seemed to hang tentatively and clumsily on the flowers. Other monarchs same in to feed on the orange flowers, and they only knocked her off. I'd pick her back up, only to have her fall back again.
Not good. Sadly, by the end of the day she wasn't moving and I had to declare her dead.
I brought her back inside to the kitchen, and she's been there ever since. SO suggested putting her in a glass frame, still haven't done that yet (it's been at least a week).
So why am I writing this up about a dead butterfly? As she went into her chrysalis and I waited for her full moon arrival, I formed an attachment with the parallels to my new life. Here I was coming out of the SCAD events and hospital to my own new life, at the same time here was my little cat doing the same. It seemed so.....omen....and you know I love that shit.
But....she died?! Do I still see the parallel? I do. My silly mind rationalized that stayed behind to remind me, so I could see her everyday. And remember what we went through. I know...silly, but that's me.
And now OF COURSE I want a monarch tattoo, but I gotta wait. LOL.
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