Chicken

I think this rooster lives across the street but I am not sure. Anyhow, it is pretty cool, he roams around and the neighbor says the cats are afraid of him. He likes a bit of bread....

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Another caterpillar

Here is another caterpillar we found on an oleander bush. It looks almost the same as the Oct. 1st butterfly but the hairs are much longer and fuzzier.  We'll see what he turns into. It was hard to photograph him, he was moving fast and never stopped. We actually have three of these guys in the bug hut.

Butterfly

This is the butterfly from the October 1st 2011 caterpillar. He was gorgeous and we let him free in the back yard. This is the first cocoon we have done ever I believe... You can also see another, different caterpillar behind him.

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And here is the cocoon he made...

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And here is the original caterpillar

And there you have it... from caterpillar to butterfly, just amazing.

Easy Bean Dip

This recipe is reminiscent of the bean dip you get in a can made by Fritos®, but it is way cheaper! Dip your favorite tortilla chips in it and enjoy.

In a bowl, mix together:
  1-16 oz. can refried beans
  3 Tablespoons sour cream
  2 Tablepoons salsa con queso dip
  2 dashes cayenne pepper
  3 dashes chili powder

NOTE: We have a set of measuring spoons with a dash spoon which is about 1/6 teaspoon.

The Pink Flamingo

Sounds like a bad '80's movie, a gaudy bar on a Southern California beach, or a hideous trailer park decoration. Oh no...this is a fantastic wood carving that resides in the lanai. Oh yeah...we are in Florida now, it fits right in. I love this guy! He was also rescued from certain death by garbage truck. Sometime in the far future his paint will need to be touched up. This guy has been here since we moved in, just hadn't gotten around to posting the picture, in all it's glory for all to see.

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Homemade Garden Recipes

UPDATE: Originally this post contained some homemade garden recipes you could easily make in your kitchen, most of them with common household ingredients. However, the post grew to larger and larger proportions, so I had to move it to a separate page. Go to the Homemade Garden Recipes Page. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Another Cocoon

We saw these at least a month ago, so I do not know how long it has been in a cocoon or even what is in it. But I will be able to tell you what it becomes, someday.

Cocoon(ing)

The caterpillar from a couple of days ago is already spinning his cocoon. We can still see it is not complete, but he is not moving so I do not know how he will finish it. Until we took this picture we did not see the wide array of web on the inside of the bottle. How long will he be in the cocoon? Who knows? Stay tuned to find out. Maybe a little research is required here.

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Invasion!

We found these guys at a neighbors house feasting on a Passion Fruit plant. They did a good amount of damage overnight but probably not life threatening to the Passion Fruit. There were also a bunch of red and black (not Monarch) butterflies mating and flying around our heads. Stay tuned, as soon as he is in a cocoon I will try to photograph that and finally when he emerges a butterfly. I have him in a water bottle with some leaves and a bit of water in the bottom, and holes melted in with a hot nail. He is about 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" long. Pretty cool.