Wildlife Wednesday :: Happy Camper Butterfly Garden

Last Saturday I spent the morning sitting out by our little butterfly garden at the travel trailer on the banks of the Colorado River in Matagorda, Texas, snapping photos of the garden wildlife that came my way.

A Sickle-winged Skipper was the first to arrive.

Soon there were two flitting from flower to flower.

Every garden needs a spider...or two. 

The milkweed is full of aphids and a bit ragged looking, but that didn't stop this Queen from laying her eggs. Hopefully the new leaves at the base of the plants will grow quickly and be enough to feed the hungry caterpillars that will be hatching soon.

Deep within the milkweed jungle, I came across a grasshopper. He was just hanging out, but I imagine he'll probably snack on some of our plants. I don't expect he'll do too much damage all by himself.

A cute little Dun Skipper stopped by for a sip of Gomphrena nectar. It must be quite tasty considering how popular it is in the garden right now.

Our RV park management has neglected to mow the grass for a few weeks. And though I'm not thrilled about that, it's probably a lucky thing for this newly emerged Queen butterfly. 

I didn't find her empty chrysalis, but I suspect it's attached to a blade of grass nearby, since this is where she stayed for most of the morning before flying away.

And just when I had decided it was too hot to stay out any longer, a Checkered White showed up. It made the rounds from lantana...

to zinnia and other flowers in between. 

On the zinnia are ants and some unidentified bugs under the petals (mites? yikes!)—just another bit of wildlife in our pesticide-free butterfly garden.

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Today's post is my contribution to Wildlife Wednesday—a meme, hosted by Tina at My Gardener Says..., that celebrates wildlife in the garden on the first Wednesday of every month.

Colorado River Flooding

We didn't go fishing this weekend for obvious reasons...

Pelican Point RV and Boat Slips, Matagorda, Texas, April 22, 2016

The Colorado River is WAY out of its banks and our RV park is flooded.

We debated about whether to leave our trailer in place. We left it last year when the river flooded and it was fine, but we decided not to take a chance this year and moved it out on Thursday before the park road was under water.

On Friday, when these pictures were taken, the river had just about reached its crest, so even though there is water under a few trailers in the new section of the park, I think they will be okay.

We can't see our section from the entrance and we weren't about to navigate the flooded road to check on it.

However the road was passable, if you have high clearance...and if you dare!

On Saturday we got a text from our next door RV neighbors. Evidently they had driven in to check on their trailer, which they left in place, and they reported that their spot and our spot were dry and had plenty of play left if the river got higher.

That's good to know for next time.

Home Away From Home

The weather was perfect this weekend. We arrived at the trailer on Thursday evening and spent all day Friday playing outside. My cold was finally improved enough that I could go out in the boat. We fished our favorite spot on the diversion channel of the Colorado River and by lunchtime we each had two beautiful speckled trout to brag about.

After lunch I worked in Happy Camper Butterfly Garden while John fished from the riverbank. There were a few weeds to pull, but the main thing was to trim back the lantana and the Mexican sage which can quickly outgrow this small space. Sometimes I think I should have named this garden The Beast.

The yarrow is in full bloom and so pretty that it deserves a closer look.

In this shot of the garden you can see that the milkweed is mostly stripped bare. Monarch activity has been very good this year. We found many empty chrysalis shells around the area and even a few small caterpillars munching away on the remaining milkweed leaves.

A female Monarch butterfly showed up while I was watering the plants. She went to work immediately laying her eggs.

And all the while John was reeling in fish from the river—two big redfish and a large trout. Well, that was all I could take. I had to join him.

This photo (taken one morning a couple of weeks ago) shows where I stood when I caught the best trout of the day—only steps away from our trailer.

And when I returned to the garden...

madame butterfly was still on focused on her mission.

What a blessing to call Matagorda our weekend home!

Happy Camper Butterfly Garden

Three years ago we planted a small butterfly garden at our travel trailer in Matagorda. We named it Happy Camper Butterfly Garden and registered it as a Monarch Waystation.

Here's a pulled back shot, so you can see its size.

It may be little, but the beauty and joy it brings is big.

Our garden is planted with a mix of host plants and nectar sources: tropical milkweed, Mexican sage, fennel, coneflowers, lantana, yarrow, gomphrena, and small zinnias that usually come back as volunteers.

Right now the milkweed is doing its thing and hosting several monarch caterpillars. Some of these caterpillars are hatched from the eggs that were laid by the tattered butterfly a couple of weeks ago.

We counted eleven caterpillars, but there could be more. They aren't always easy to see. You really have to look under and around and all over. And then look some more.

This hungry caterpillar was hidden on the underside of a leaf, munching away as fast as he could. 

It's possible that our milkweed plants will be stripped bare the next time we see them, but that's okay since that's what it takes to make a monarch butterfly.

My Happy Place

Any day that I'm able to wake up to this view is a good day.

For those of you who don't know, John and I have a travel trailer that we keep on the banks of the Colorado River in Matagorda, Texas. This is my happy place!

That's because life here is simple, casual, and relaxed. Sometimes I think we should sell the house and live full time in the trailer.

If we could bring the chickens with us, we might. :)

It's doubtful we will ever make such a drastic lifestyle change...but that view makes me wonder sometimes.