Guess what the MagicaL CoCooN did......... ♥

                         IT    HATCHED!!!!! 

Can you believe it.........

I'm sooooo sad though, because I missed the magic show!!!   I had been checking most everyday, in fact I was starting to get worried because I read that you could gently shake the cocoon and sometimes feel some movement inside. But when I tried, it just felt like a hard little butter bean in there. I was beginning to think he didn't make it through the winter. (some don't)

BUT, on a dreary rainy Tuesday morning.... tadaaaaah!  Who would of thought.... all along I assumed it would emerge on  a perfect spring/summer day. ( My father suggested maybe the moisture in the air helps them to bore out of the cocoon. Makes sense...)

Well... I just happen to look up and here HE was!!!!!!

I was just awestruck at what I was actually seeing!!!!   Then I ran over to check the cocoon... I was actually moved to tears... happy tears!

 For those who may be reading about this for the first time, here's a quick recap... ( if your a nature lover and want to read the story from the beginning go back and first read "Forever Grateful... and the Magical Cocoon" here  and then "Spring Update: Oliver and the Magical Cocoon" here )  Anyway....some of our dear friends found this huge magnificent caterpillar on my street last Sept. on the day of their wedding party. They brought it in so it wouldn't get squished by all cars fixin' to pull up....and we "let it go"...  in my screen enclosure. It spun a wonderful cocoon 3 weeks later. Soooooooo, we've been on the "cocoon watch" for 7 months...wondering if it was gonna make it through the winter.

Oliver and the Magical Cocoon♥

Here's my first attempt at getting him on video.....  

        Jinx -Part 1                 

Meet Jinxy...

Anyway, it took days before I could get a good look at him because he stayed so far up on the screen enclosure. But I finally did... and then ran to research and found out that he in fact was a male Polyphemus moth. He was glorious!!!!

Here's a closer look at him.... by this time I was beginning to have some concerns over his well being.... and how I could catch and release this magnificent creature.....

He was soooo pretty..... 6" wing span!

 Well, as you heard in this last video.... I was filled with regret for not being able to let him go sooner. Especially after doing more research and finding out where he was at in his life cycle. Had I known this...I certainly would of tried to keep it outside in a safe place of some sort, so as the critters couldn't eat him.

Oh well... I can't take it back right?   I choose to believe he indeed fluttered off into the evening..... and found the perfect female and managed to finish his life's work.
I also like to think that I had a part in him surviving winter, as we had had several hard freezes. Ollie and Jinxy's cocoon shared the same plant, so numerous nights I put a heat lamp out for them.

 I was extremely grateful to have this experience. I often feel like people don't "get" the things that I am enamoured by.... oh well,  poo on them !  I think it's important to follow what brings you peace inside.... and I love what I love : )

More art related post coming soon... I promise!   ♥ ajae

Polyphemus Moth Fact:   The males have such large feather-like antenna's in order for them to pick up the pheromones released from the females. They can detect and  travel up to 5 miles in search of Love♥                      

Spring Update: Oliver and the Magical Cocoon

Well... I'm happy to report that our winter is coming to a close here in North Florida, and I for one, am soooooo relieved as I tend to suffer quite well with the winter doldrums.  I don't think I would survive very well at all in the colder, longer winter climates. (shout out to my northern friends, ya'll are tough cookies)  Not only do I not handle the cold temperatures well, but I think I get that seasonal depression junk. I NEED sunshine... and I am extremely grateful to be planted in Florida : )

My weeds are always the first to let me know winter is officially almost over...
I think weeds get a bad rap... and even though I also tend to rid my garden of most of them, they are just another flowering plant for peats sake!! And you don't have to hunt them down and pay for them at the nursery. They just show up allllll by themselves♥ and offer up their enjoyment and beauty for free... I even press them and use them in my art work : )

My best of all news is... I'm thrilled to say that Oliver did well and made it through our freezing temperatures this year. The plant he was residing on is another story... which is also the plant the glorious caterpillar decided to cocoon apon. Well... it was a money tree which is a tropical plant  and I couldn't bring it in doors because of Oliver. The warmer house temperature would have brought him out of his brumation (a type of hibernation) and when that happens they begin to move around more, and if he got loose in the house and I couldn't find him, dying from dehydration would be almost a certainty.
 I have known for weeks now the plant was not gonna make it. I had hoped the heat lamps I used on it to keep Oliver safe would save the plant too, but Saturday I noticed the poor plant was seriously dropping leaves by the minute and fixing to be bare... I had to go find Oliver a new home. And what to do with the cocoon? Oh my..... I was totally fretting over it : (

 Here is Ollie and the cocoon on the healthy plant last September.
                                   
 Here it was on Saturday morning.....

So... I went plant shopping Saturday and decided on a loquat tree. They are a slow growing tree that is evergreen in our area. This way, I won't have to worry about this next year...and so on ..... Here's a video I took when I got home and put the new tree out. I apologize about it being quite blurry at times.

Below is a clearer picture of the magical cocoon.... I soooo hope it's okay : (

Well... my hope is that this is of some interest to others. I find myself wondering, but I'm determined to stay focused on things here that really mean something to me. Things that  I feel to my core... and the things that bring me my peace...  Oh, and by the way... he moved into his new condo shortly after I shot the video : )

  ♥ajae

ps. This will be my 4th year with Oliver. If you are just now reading this and intriqued, I first posted about Oliver and the magical cocoon last Oct. here: http://ajaeunleashed.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-10-01T00%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&updated-max=2010-11-01T00%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=1