Hanging On

The other day, I was outside looking at what the rains of spring and summer had brought:

Rain Lilies,

Purple Trailing Lantana

and a bee in the Milkweed.

That last one made me particularly happy, as it was a gift and seems to have drawn butterflies to our yard where there were none before.

Later that day as I was admiring the Milkweed, I noticed the leaves were being eaten, and some of the blossoms had been chewed. Bending over and looking closely (because you never see what's important until you bend over and get real close), I saw a SwallowtailMonarch Caterpillar hard at work destroying the Milkweed, which of course is the purpose of the Milkweed.

Oh what joy, to be seen from the sky as an oasis, as a destination, as a place to land.

But the next day, the rains came again. The skies darkened. The wind whipped the branches of the trees furiously as the front advanced. And the rain came down in torrents, beating the leaves of the trees and the bushes and that Milkweed plant playing host to that SwallowtailMonarch.

After the rain let up and only a few drops were falling, I walked out to see what remained. The SwallowtailMonarch was still there. Evidently, they know how to hang on.

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Update: Annie in Austin gracefully corrected my caterpillar identification.

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