Backyard friends ~

My grandson and I were checking out all the baby Monarch Butterfly caterpillars on our Milkweed plant when I looked over at one of my rose bushes to find this colorful grasshopper. Ethan took a picture of it with my Samsung Galaxy 5 phone . . . nice job Ethan!

We have Monarch Butterfly caterpillars ~

 

 

I am amazed how quickly I have Monarch Butterfly caterpillars on the Milkweed plant I purchased not too long ago, as I posted about → here.  It's amazing to watch them and I'm excited that there will be many more Monarch Butterflies here.  You can see more photos that I took this morning of the little baby caterpillars → here.  I will keep you all posted on their progress . . . according to Wikipedia (link above), the caterpillar stage lasts about two weeks. They are so cute . . . I never really thought these guys were cute until now!

Asclepias 'Silky Formula Mix' and Monarch Butterflies ~

  

Monarch butterflies are so beautiful and they have a special meaning to me . . . they remind me of my mom (1933~2010). It's my understanding that Monarch butterflies have declined significantly, you can read more about it → here  and according to an article on the livescience site ~

" . . .  The announcement from researchers with WWF and Mexico's National Commission for Natural Protected Areas appears to confirm the fears of some biologists, who said it was likely that scalding temperatures and extreme droughts affecting Texas and other parts of the United States in 2011 would take a toll on the butterflies."

I wanted to do my part (and of course have Monarchs in my own backyard) . . . so I did a little research on what native plants here in Southern Cal would help and found that the Monarch loves, feeds and depends on the → Asclepias aka Milkweed plant. I went to my local nursery right away. When I got home, I transplanted the Milkweed plant into one of mom's big huge pots . . . I wasn't even done transplanting it when this one Monarch fluttered around, landed and has taken up permanent residence . . . she is here every day.

I ended up taking over 132 photos (you can see more of the photos → here, some are not as clear as I would have liked but she was all over the place) of this beautiful butterfly fluttering in mid air, landing, and enjoying the nectar. I am hoping that she is able to find this new home secure enough to lay her larvae . . . our world or at least my backyard could use many more of these beautiful creatures.

You can also enjoy the "Butterfly Estates" on Facebook . . . lots of info and wonderful photos.

Pineapples and Roses ~ Guest post by my grandson ~

 

Baby non-edible pineapple plant ~ by Ethan ~

My grandson's daddy, is a professional photographer . . . I think my eight year old grandson inherited his dad's gift! Ethan is using an older digital camera . . . a Canon EOS20D,  that his dad just recently gave him and was no longer using. We decided to take a "photo" walk in the neighborhood this morning and capture flowers or whatever came our way. One of our neighbors was out washing his car and invited us to photograph the many plants and flowers he had in his backyard . . . turned out to be a photo goldmine and a great place for both of us to practice.

We both took lots and lots of photos . . . our neighbor must have had every plant and flower under the sun. We took as many as we could and Ethan is excited to share some of his photos. As time permits, I will share both our photos here. Ethan even created his photo logo . . . you can see it in the lower right corner of his photo above. He took some pretty awesome photos.

 

~ Pink Moss Rose ~  by Gini

This was my very favorite flower in our neighbors yard (besides his vintage roses) that I took with my new Canon EOS Rebel T3i 600. My older Rebel died on me (which is in part why I haven't posted on my photo blog for a while) . . . I was told it needs a new motherboard and I might go ahead and have it fixed for my granddaughter down the road but I am loving this new camera!

 

Neighbor's Pink Moss Rose in a swan pebble planter ~ by Gini

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Mom's Roses ~

 

The first bouquet to bloom on mom's (1933~2010) rose bush, that I dug up in January 2013,  from my mom's home and then transplanted to my home. It was touch and go for a while but they are doing very well. I do not know the "official" name of this rose . . . I am working on coming up with a special name for it . . . just as we did for the pretty pink roses in the photo below. These are a cross of a pink and coral color.


 

The "Elfie" Rose  

This rose bush (was still in the pot from the nursery, mom had just purchased it and hadn't planted in her yard as of yet), I transplanted in March of 2012, from mom's home to mine . . . it's doing very well. 

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Thank you, Gigi Hasso's (my step-sister) for picking the perfect name, "Elfie" ~

I haven't posted on my photo blog for quite a while.  My old used Rebel camera (2010~2012) would not recognize the SD card and it was just too costly to have it repaired, so, I ended up getting a sweet new, Canon Rebel 600 EOS Rebel T3i and I am in love with it . . . now, I am learning how to use it (have a long way to go) and hoping to get back to taking photos and posting now and then. For Mother's Day, my daughter gifted me with a 3 hour photography class (Groupon)  in Balboa Park Gardens . . . looking forward to doing that! 

Rain rain go away ~

 

This is Koda, laying by the glass sliding door and wishing he could go out and play . . . we are getting a bit of well needed rain the last few days and it's cutting into his backyard play time!

Signs of Spring ~

 

I can see signs of Spring in these brand new leaves on my Hydrangea plants.