"Beachy"

Last evening Markel and I went down Old Morgantown Road to get some fresh milkweed for the caterpiller. Phebe told Markel yesterday that they mowed all the plants on the side of Old Morgantown, and he said that the flowers and milkweed are still there. Well- when we got there the sad truth was revealed to us - everything was mowed short, and the only milkweed left was what was missed by the mower. It was mowed on Monday because when Markel took his walk on Sunday it was still all there! I didn't even take a picture of how it looked last evening because Lois was horrified enough that it might have been chopped, and I didn't want to put her through more misery than she already felt!

We brought home the fresh milkweed, and Markel got a clean jar so that the caterpiller had a jar of it's own. Immediately he began to chomp on the old leaf he was on first, and then moved to a new leaf while I was standing there watching. The funny thing is - he/she had quit eating before that for a whole day and wasn't getting any bigger. By this morning he was MUCH begger, and I think soon will be in the J form. Markel was looking last evening and said that the new name is easy to decide, and so it is -"Beachy" (boy or girl)!

This is how big Beachy is this morning when I checked to see. It's chowing down on the leaves yet this morning!