We had them in the house last year and if I remember right, I think the pupal stage was the same as the swallowtails, around two weeks. I am terrible at keeping track. You are in for a treat! The chrysalis is so pretty! They overwinter as adults. In fact, I see them on the trails in the woods early spring. As long as it is warm enough they are out. They are one of my favorites in the house (uh oh, there goes one of my favorite three bumped off the list). Although they "nectar" on sap in the woods, they use flowers in the house and land on our shoulders all the time. They are very personable. You might end up growing a hops vine after this. Cascade makes a good beer I hear :)! -Elisabeth

Thank you for that prayer, Toni! It was lovely! Happy Mothers day to all of our Mothers in fact, Mothers in waiting and Spiritual Mothers, and even to our male "moms". You are all very precious and very appreciated! Giving birth to a child does not make one a mother, it is love, attention, caring and devotion that does that. Being a mother is holding them close when they hurt or are fearful, laughing and crying with them, knowing when to let go and knowing how to let them come home again, even if just for a few minutes. It is support, cheerleading, playing the 'bad guy' when needed, encouraging them to grow, and try new things, even when all we want to do is keep them close. It is accepting the decisions they make for their lives, not grudgingly, but with love and understanding, even when those choices are not ones we would have made for them. It is loving where they love... and standing back and not getting in the middle. It is giving our opinion, then stepping back to let them be the person they choose to be. And it's even standing to the side and letting them deal with the consequences, good or bad, of the decisions they make. It is being there for them, even if the consequences are deserved. Blessings to all of you who have faced or will face these challenges and who do so with love, because a Mother's job is never done. Kathy Kathy

Dear Deb, My heart goes out to you as you try to belileve in a life after this one. My faith was stringhtened by being with my Momma when she died. Not because I was just with her. But because I witnessed something I can not explaine, to myself or to others. I was sitting on the sofa that day and I noticed that my Mom's breathing was odd. They call it 'fish out of water breathing'. It went on for a while and we could not get her to rouse up or respond in anyway. We knew it was her time to pass and my sister and I sat on either side of her, each holding a hand. Just before she died she opened her eyes, focused on something over our sholders and shook off our hands, and raised her arms, then in weakness her arms fell down, once more before her very last breath she shook off our hands and reached up her arms, like a small child asking to be held, her eyes opened and tears sprung into them, she had a look of complete surprise, then she smiled a small smile and exhaled. That was it, she was gone. I looked at my sister and said 'did you see that too'? And my sister said she had. I was stunned. My Momma saw something or someone I could not see. I remember looking back over my sholder to see what she was looking at. I know she was reaching up to hold someone, she was happy to see them. Was it my Dad who had died a year before, or her parents who had been gone many years? I guess I will not know who came to get her until I see her again... I only know without doubt that my Mom died in front of me and she went from our hands into the arms of someone unseen by us. I believe it was my Dad. That expierence changed me and gave me a stringth in my faith like nothing else I have expierenced so far in my short 50 years. So I can tell you without doubt, I know there is another life beyond this life. I hope this can help you. I do not tell this to many people because in the retelling with just mere words, I can not convey the awe, or magnitute of the expierence itself. I pray that you will find comfort soon. For me, grief has been like the sharp edge of a knife that cuts away at my soul, and time has been the only substance that has been able to dull the edge of the knife. I send you love and positive energy for healing.

So sorry for your horrible news. Your Mom has been through more than most people could have tolerated. She is amazingly strong. So sad for you and your family that she is suffering so. I cannot say that I know what it feels like to lose one's mother, as I still have mine. But I did watch my Dad die, and I know some of the feelings you are having. It is one of the most difficult parts of life. I am praying for you and your family.