I was fascinated by them after noticing this little striped caterpillar hanging upside down on

this little overhang on the side of our house. The next day, I went out to check and the caterpillar wasn't there, but there was this mysterious green "capsule" hanging in the exact same place. And it was about the same size. As I recall, the whole length was about the same as from the tip of your pinkie finger to its first knuckle (about an inch?).

We read about it and I learned that it was a chrysalis and that the little caterpillar was in there going through some magic. I took it to school in a mayonnaise jar with some sticks and leaves in it, and we all watched it.

A short while later, we noticed a change! The chrysalis looked different! It wasn't green anymore! It was sort of see-through! What the heck?!? You could see something dark packed in there. No idea what it was, or what was happening! A day or so later (don't remember exactly, I think I was in second or third grade), whatever was in there seemed like it was trying to break out. There was some movement! And POP! Out it came! It was a little tightly-folded-up monarch butterfly, wet and compressed, and it took awhile for the wings to unfold and open up, and the body stretch out to full length and soon enough, there was a full-grown adult monarch!

I was in love! I've never forgotten that. I've loved them ever since! Utterly fascinating! Milkweed grew all over the place where we lived, back then - in the Midwest. We used to collect the empty pods and do nature crafting with them. They're WUNNNNNNNNNderful!

------------

I've never read that book, but Barbara Kingsolver was a favorite author when my kids were in school. Thanks for the tip! I'll have to check that one out.

And btw, THANK YOU! You're doing good. And helping the good.

Virtual

World Wildlife Fund and Environmental Defense Fund.

Also National Wildlife Federation, and the Sierra Club (they're focusing on saving the monarch butterfly, which I have loved and found fascinating since I was a little kid - gotta protect the milkweed they eat!).

I'm hardcore into saving the planet - I've got a granddaughter now and another one on the way! If I'm gonna donate, I'm more likely to go that way.

And as for the bipeds, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Sara Gideon (D-ME - so we can FINALLY get rid of Susan Collins!) for sure!

I have no personal or professional affiliations with any of these. I'm just in the mood to help them, too.

Good stuff, writes3000!

Steady stream of $25 from here - for several months. When he started looking like he had a shot, I started trying to help him. Besides, Inslee was over by then.

Update -

At 2:18pm - domestic data only
Confirmed cases US - 5,714,711
Deaths US - 177,672


At 2:52pm
Confirmed cases US - 5,715,371
Deaths US - 177,693

I dunno - are we talking fortune cookies or something?

Yeah, you've gotta work pretty hard to keep up with all of that reading matter!

Her taste is up her ass.

Love all those nice cold bare bundles of sticks, all painted cold glacial white. Must match your heart, Melania.

That other one (in red) has gotta be "Elmo goes to the Klan rally..."

More grievances. Piled higher and deeper.

I won't be watching. Nobody there I'm interested in seeing or hearing from.

I'll catch the "post-game show" with Rachel & Co. each evening. They'll have all the "best" quotes, reports, and speech bits. I'd rather get it from them rather than the proverbial "horse's mouth" - or more accurately, "horse's ass's mouth."

Hope they stay that way.

No we don't! Not til kushner and donnie junior are there, and of course, the donald himself.

And flynn hasn't seen the inside of a prison yet, either. And roger stone needs to get there, too. And the case against that fucker Steve Bannon is just getting started. And that's just the growing list of trump fiends i can think of, at the moment.