It's been a bit depressing here since yesterday. I tell myself not to get attached to the stray cats that are around the neighborhood, but to no avail. Thru a collaborative effort between neighbors here, we feed and nurture them as best we can. About 2 months ago, a brown and black tabby began showing up. A little shy at first, she soon warmed up to a gentle stroke with the hand and some food and water. She became a regular visitor, very sweet-natured, loved to be petted, with a ravenous appetite. I finally realized she was pregnant. She had her babies about a month ago, but we didn't have a clue where they were. Mother cats are very secretive about the location of their babies. Sunday, Kenna was here and decided she was going to make a little "home" for Lady George (so-called because she so closely resemble my George, an indoor-only cat. In fact, when we first saw her, I thought Kenna had accidentally let George out of the house, for which I had to quickly apologize when I realized it was a different cat entirely! Kenna's little home consisted of a simple cardboard box with low sides, a clean sheet folded up to fit, a very small teddy bear, and a couple of "Cat Fancy" magazines. Kenna followed her when she finished eating her food and found the kittens in the basement next door (door always left open). Armed with a flashlight, she discovered they were behind a couple of cememt blocks on a high shelf. I could only see 3, but she saw 4. She was so excited, even though I tried to lighten the enthusiasm by reminding her we would have to adopt them out; that Nannie could not have any more cats. She didn't show up on Monday for her regular feedings, so I wondered if she was okay. Trekking down the basement steps as an old woman with bad knees struggles with steps, I found her lying dead at the bottom of the shelves where her kittens were. Such a shock to me, I was more concerned about how I was going to handle this with Kenna. A friend and I went back over and we retrieved the kittens - there were 4 as Kenna said, two little black & brown tabbies like mom; 1 black and white tabby, with white boots, chest, and tummy, and 1 black with tiny hints of white. Cutest things you ever saw. They were hungry and a bit dehydrated, and about 4 weeks old. They didn't seem to be too frightened of us, but they must have been terrified. We checked them over and found they were all boys. Another neighbor friend is going to take them to her mother who lives on a farm, and take care of them until they are old enough to be allowed outside. Still......I miss my sweet little gardening companion lying close to me in the soft grass, sunning herself while I worked. I have got to stop caring about these strays because I get too attached to them, and their outlook for the future is mostly grim. We had planned to take her to a no-kill animal shelter as soon as the kittens were weaned so we had good intentions for her future. So, we'll raise some Sleepy Oranges in her honor. Sorry for hijacking the thread. Susan

Thanks Liz, that link is very helpful. I have overwintered a few black swallowtails before, so I know they at least overwinter here. I wish I had written down the dates I found the eggs and when they pupated. I know I have released monarchs in late August and early September before, but again I didn't record the dates. In the past I had just kept a running tally of each species raised that year, but now I know I should probably jot down some of the dates for the earliest and latest ones at least. My books are all very general about this considering the audience is the whole US or beyond. They will say something like flight period May-September and overwinters as a pupa. But there is no info as far as where a particular species will overwinter and survive. I'm thinking if I am at the very northernmost point on the map for a butterflies range that they will not overwinter here. Maybe they only come this far north to breed and then their offspring fly south again to overwinter?? I just thought maybe there was some resource with that info available. I would love to see what new species I can raise since I now have some decent sized wafer ash, wild black cherry, and false nettles started. So far I have done monarchs, black swallowtails, american ladies, clouded sulphurs, and hummingbird moths. The tigers are so abundant now I'm itching to get some eggs. A giant swallowtail would be like my holy grail!

You didn't cause it, Tia. There are a couple of possible pests; tomato fruitworms don't come from pantry moths, but from a larger moth (which I seem to recall is nocturnal... the picture of the adults looks familiar). They're all over the place, and they were in the area before you planted your tomatoes. If there have been cornfields anywhere near where you are, they would have migrated from there, as they are the same pest as the corn earworm. Another possibility is tomato pinworm, which come from a different, smaller moth. They drill small holes and burrow deeper into the fruit than the fruitworm, which makes messy furrows around the stem. You can foil either one by spraying with a natural bacteria, Bacillus thuriengensis, commonly known as Bt. It's available in most hardware stores and nurseries. A light coating of Bt on the surface of the fruit will kill any caterpillars, as they eat it and get a case of terminal bellyache. It's totally harmless to humans and animals. I hope that helps. --Alison

Well, I checked my bags of potting mix, but neither of the open ones have the moisture retention feature. I did buy one or more with that feature, though, so it's possible that's what I used in those little pots. Still, I'll continue to observe the "egg." This could turn into a blonde joke.....