More Moths and Some Raccoons

A second Cecropia Moth emerged from her cocoon and she's a beauty.

She reminded me of I Love Lucy.

Her antennae are thin,


compared to her mate's. The receptors in his antennae helped him to pick up her scent.


I don't know if male and female wings are typically different, or if they just vary by individuals. The female had more crimson

than the male.

As with the last pair, the female appeared, waited throughout the day, and next morning, a male had found her.
Again, they mated all day and were gone the next morning. But this time, I saw them part. I went out at 10:00 p.m. and they were still together, but flapping their wings vigorously, as if struggling to separate. Eventually they uncoupled and each clung to the twig, rapidly fluttering their wings. It was a cool night and I thought they were trying to get the blood flowing in preparation for their flights. She took off first -- and landed on my arm! I realized it was her first flight, ever, and it moved me. I let her rest a bit, then, realizing it was late and way past my bedtime, I gently lifted her off. She flew a couple of feet to a lit window on the back of the house. He flew into the treetop. I went inside, and a few minutes later, she had flown away to lay her eggs.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Mama 'Coon has been coming to the feeder regularly.

Later, she showed the kids where the food was. They've been chowing down on sunflower seeds and we've been supplementing it occasionally with dog food, peanuts, and apples.

Now they come to the feeder by themselves.

Petals, Wings, and Another Fallen Tree

The Fringe Tree has exploded with flowers. So lacy and delicate!

Golden Ragwort

The name is a little shabby for such a brilliant flower.

Jacob's Ladder

(My grandnephew, Jacob, gets a kick out of this one.)

Hiding beneath the Mayapple canopy...

are flowers, soon to be apples.

Common Blue Violet

The Large-flowered Trilliums have faded to pink and are gone now. I'm glad I took the time to appreciate them when they were in their prime. It's a long time till next flowering!

Wild Blue Phlox

distinguished from non-native Dame's Rocket by 5 petals, instead of the Dame's 4.

Wild Columbine
Butterflies and hummingbirds sip nectar from deep inside the spurs.

Wild Geranium

Shellbark Hickory

Not exactly petals, but every bit as pretty.

Lightning knocked the top off of the maple across the river.

Two days later, heavy rains swept the top downstream.

And when the river fell, it left behind a dandy turtle-sunning log!

Moths are out and about. This is a Baltimore Bomolocha. The caterpillars feed on Red and Silver Maple.

Fall Webworm Moth caterpillars feed on many types of deciduous trees. The cats form weblike tents in branches; unsightly, perhaps, but not damaging to the trees.

A friend raised some Cecropia Moth caterpillars last Fall. She said they ate like little piglets and she had a hard time keeping them fed with leaves. She gave me two cocoons this Spring, which we tied to a Juneberry outside the back door.

Although I didn't see the hatch, I saw the moth soon thereafter. I suspected this was a female, since she had small antennae.

My suspicions were confirmed the next day when I saw her (on the left) mating and compared her much larger abdomen and his large, feathery antennae. They remained together for a day, then disappeared. There are eggs, probably around 100, somewhere on the property, and I hope to see some caterpillars throughout the Summer.