Aren't they beautiful, Ms. Faith? I'm really enjoying mine! Sherry

OK, I was bad and you can all beat me up verbally later. I got impatient, figuring the cocoon was no longer viable and I opened it. Well, started to open it. I breached the outer cocoon and had just started to expose the pupa when I suddenly got that sense of...weight that you mentioned before. This felt decidedly heavier than the other empty cocoon and pupa. And I stopped right there! So - here I am with a baby on my hands and I don't know what to do with it. I have rigged a cage as you can see in the pic, and the thing is presently in a room by itself with fresh air coming through the window. That's the closest I can approximate to same conditions of temperature and humidity. It will be slightly warmer than it was outside, but not by much. Without the lights on, the room is in about the same lighting conditions as the shady area it was in before. I've changed the orientation of the cocoon somewhat when I attached it to the cage - is that a problem? And what do I do next??? Will it need misting or anything since it would be getting that outside? And once the moth starts to emerge, which hopefully it's still going to - how long a process is it till it's ready to be set free? Is it more likely to do this during the day or the night? I don't want to stress it out by being caged and I don't want to miss taking a pic either. :) - Alex

Unless you have a hot spot with rich soil which you can water during dry periods, I wouldn't recommend it. I bought one three years ago when in bloom and have yet to see it bloom in our gardens. I live in NS in a Zone 6 Canadian/ Zone 5 USDA. It does come up every year, then sets buds starting the end of August, but the cool evenings start and it won't bloom so this year it could get 'yanked' as I need the space for performers!

Oh, I love this stone. It was a little too gray for my cabs. I have two friends that have it in NYC and they love it. Both have kids. You just need to seal it. I sealed a piece of quartzite before I tested it(madre perola) and it did great with stains. No etching. Looks just like marble.