Sandy, I believe you are correct, that it is "The Laugher", or Charadra deridens. I thank you and Sherry for the lookups. I googled images on line and the little face looks the same as the 'Laugher'. I wonder if he hitched a ride in on a Butterfly Bush I bought yesterday? I watered the plant well after placing it on the deck and the watering might have caused him to move off of it. Since I didn't know what he would eat, I put him down in the garden last night. I hope he finds something he can eat as he was so sweet. Yes, Susan, that little face was just precious. It reminds me of the faces of the little white seal pups with the big eyes. Susan, my redrings are doing fine so far, except for one baby. It dried out in the top, then the leaves slowly dried up and fell off. The little stem is now drying out. I can't see a wound on the stem so I don't know what might have happened. I'll look for it next spring, hoping the roots will survive. Even though I had several RedRing flower heads, not one seed pod was produced! It blooms the earliest of all the milkweeds I've tried to grow, maybe there aren't enough pollenizers around that early in the spring. This might be part of the reason it is declining in the wild. Although, come to think of it, the wild one I found two years ago was blooming later in the summer but it looked like it had been mowed down at some point so maybe it was a second growth I found. I'm so nervous to mess around very much with the RedRing MW; just trying to keep hands off and let nature take care, although I do check them over each day. It is such a pretty plant; hope we can get some more growing and producing seed. I did have one baby actually bloom this year so I'm hopeful it will produce several flower heads next season, along with the wild one. Last year the wild one only put up one stalk (if I'm remembering correctly) and this year it put up four stalks and all had several flower heads, just no seed pod. Do you have RedRing growing in your garden? Mary

First off, sorry to be so long getting here, our server was down all night and most of the morning. Terryr, Sorry about your situation...people can be pretty cold and heartless and unfortunately family barbs can sometimes hurt the worst, can't they...wish folks would stop and think before they open their mouths. A friend sent me this image. He was out mending fence and saw this and went all the way back to the house after the camera. His impression is that it had a brief navigational hiccup with drastic consequences. I wonder if a shrike didn't have something to do with this. Looks like a scarab beetle (dung beetle maybe) which are pretty heavily armored and I would bet would tend to glance right off and keep on truckin'....but the barb has impaled the beetle right behind the head where there's a chink in its "armor" so I can go either way on this one. Plus if this beetle was in flight when it hit, its coverlets were out and it would have been more vulnerable. An interesting (and slightly macabre) picture just the same.

Hi, marti8a, moccasin, and lavender! I have been busy with the kitchen, and with yard work. It's raining today, so I'm taking a break. Marti, thank you for all the encouragement--sometimes I feel very alone, but I've had help with the major biggies--opening kitchen wall, building new header, and lately my brother has been cutting countertop. I have the slab's rough edges sanded and buffed, but I can't move the bigger pieces without help. My BIL has helped, mostly with the hood, and my son dropped in recently, and helped me move sheet rock (5/8") upstairs for the guest room project. He's living 2 1/2 hours away, now--so much better than 2 1/2 day trip! I think I commented on lavender's old house post that the sink wall has been the most difficult part of the kitchen remodel so far. I knew it would be, but I'm thankful to have the small sink around the corner to do dishes. Since it's taking so much longer than I expected to get everything ready to hook up the new sink, I gave in and cooked dinner twice this week. My daughter even gave me a (very quiet) "Thanks, Mom," both times--I think she's figured out that meals don't magically appear on the counter. (Remember the Jetson's?) This is a difficult time of year for me (for moccasinlanding, too, I know), and I appreciate your kind thoughts. mama_goose who lately has been feeling like a bear :)

Hmmm...wonder how deep he would've planted the cows?