Thank you for the words of encouragement. Seeing that I will be turning 58 this month, it’s hard to imagine getting “mission ready”. By the time I am fully vetted and ready for a mission, they will need to provide a wheelchair for me, lol.
The highlight of your day
choitrio
#1697
sophie2you
#1699
Missions can be trade missions too aka business meetings. My cousin went on a few to scope out the market.
choitrio
#1700
My daughter successfully completed her summer internship at Microsoft as a software engineer and is coming home today for a short visit before she has to go back to school for her last semester.
🧊 
gaby_heitmann_975
#1703
Happy Birthday to you… Happy Birthday to you…
HAAPPYYY Birthday dear @choitrio… Happy Birthday to yooooouuuuu 
Alles gute und liebe 
And damn enjoy Vegas…you can mourn then later 
simi11
#1704
Some weeks ago a black swallow butterfly laid many eggs on my outgrown 3 fennel plants (the six fennels didn’t grow a bulb). I watched him carefully how he planted the eggs. Upon reading about this I found out that various insects like to feed on them (egge) since they contain protein.
I got a mesh fabric bag I had from a hamper and removed the wires and just pulled it over the tall fennel and attached it to my tomato plant container.
Altogether 8 eggs hatched and I moved 3 fat caterpillars in a glas square vase and feed them there, since they will soon wander off to a molting spot. One caterpillar was ready yesterday and he gave me hard time… no box or container, no stick or wooden planks would satisfy him… he wandered off all day… he finally hooked on a cardboard. 
(I raised butterflies before)
So my highlight is that this stubborn caterpillar, I’m guessing a male, finally will pupate. Two more to go soon as well. We have currently cold and rainy days, so I’m not sure whether the chrysalis will “hibernate” and come out in spring. I read you can also keep them in fridge to induce this stage.(Sadly only a small number will actually become a butterfly, pesticides will kill them, some have diseases and/or are eaten by predators.)
There is always a new learning curve, I don’t even know why Im doing it, I can’t rescue the dying planet, just like these seniors who belong to a club and go weeding on days to remove invasive weeds that do not belong and have been imported decades ago… 
I’d say it’s the little things that matter and bring joy in life… have a good and safe day! 
lutra
#1705
I had trouble eating since my mom has passed, and already lost quite a bit of weight over the past months and weeks. I pressured myself to eat to not lose even more weight, that’s when my weight was at a point I last had in my 30s. Last week somehow I caught a virus and got an upset stomach on top, it was a cruel 2 days until no food was left in my “system”. I couldn’t eat anything else than some small amount of rusk or dry toasted bread the following days, slowly I got better and since yesterday it seems I am back to eat whatever I like without having any pain. It took me a whole week, when under normal circumstance my body will conquer something like this in 2-3 days. Still, I lost another 5 kilos and are now at a weight I didn’t have for about 30 years. I am still not underweight but not too far away, but I am thankful that I at least can eat again. I am still not at the point of enjoying food as I did in the past.
But I really felt so famish the other day that I was eating a whole pizza by myself, I didn’t feel any pain from my stomach, so I am sure it is overcome. My dizziness is subsiding, I gradually feel strength coming back …
I am at a point where I have to once again start over and for that I need a healthy body, so I was really happy yesterday eating, it felt as if now I finally can do something again.
Today I hope I will be able to walk a bit outside and maybe get some groceries. See you around …
Stay healthy, everyone in mind and body, I will try to get some cake for myself, I lack a good amount of calories 
my_happy_place
#1706
@simi11 What a cool story. I applaud you for at least trying to save those butterflies-to-be. How many people would have even noticed the eggs being laid in the first place, much less try to protect them and help them along?
@lutra I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. Losing your appetite through grief is certainly relatable. I’m glad to hear you seem to be on the mend after suffering the added stomach bug.
kdrama2020ali
#1707
I’m so sorry to hear this. I lost my mom about 5 years ago and I still struggle.
Grief comes in WAVES so be kind to yourself. I have had waves and waves up and down for a while now! I had to find supplements and exercise (weight lifting) to help my anxiety.
I have had a really really sick kitty in my house for the last two weeks. I found it hard to eat because he wasn’t eating and I was worrying night and day about him - all family members human or non-human just make us love having them around.
Many blessing to you eating better and feeling better
lutra
#1708
Rain!!!
It might not be all good, because it is a bit heavy and the soil is pretty dry. I don’t know if my front yard will survive this summer most plants been there for 40 years but some look not that good, if I say it nicely. Since I was ill, I couldn’t water it nor shadowing it. Thunder and lightning is coming around, I need to be careful now as it comes closer …
But after all, rain finally … Even though after the last thunders not as heavy anymore, okay it is starting to get heavier again …
It’s raining … I am not a fan of thunder, lightning, winds that brought it along, but today I am just happy about the rain. I have never experienced a crueler summer than this year.
simi11
#1709
So I have now 5 chrysalis, 2 green and 3 brown. Some caterpillars walked away outside. But this is so much work… the feeding not so, but when they start walking away I have to put them in new container or boxes, add more branches or not until they empty their guts and hang themselves onto something.
Some decided to get back to eating more and I put one on my lemon plant and he started chewing the leaf… I think 2 wandered in my living room away and are somewhere hidden attached… hopefully they will emerge while it’s still warm weather, if they do later and it’s cold I have to feed them or who knows since it’s warm in the apartment but outside too cold.
I’ll try to post a picture.
gaby_heitmann_975
#1710
@simi11
It is so great of you, that you care so touching for the caterpillars, how long does it take now so approximately, until they become a butterfly ?
Then I would also like to see pictures of the little ones 
gaby_heitmann_975
#1711
It was the same with me when my cat got so sick, in the end I lost 6 kilos 🥲 I also suffer with them when they suffer 
kdrama2020ali
#1712
My kitty is no longer with us! He was a beauty- but I tried to save him for a month and it just didn’t happen!
RIP FERRIS
8-26-22
gaby_heitmann_975
#1713
@kdrama2020ali
I’m very sad to hear about this right now and I’m very sorry… Feel cuddle from me…
And you Ferris, I hope you came well over the rainbow stairs and were warmly welcomed
simi11
#1714
Thanks Gaby, it depends on many factors if temperatures are already low and days are shorter they might hibernate and come out in spring… as they live only 2-4 weeks they could theoretically come out and after mating their eggs would then hibernate… but the new caterpillars would need to find plants they could feast before turning into pupae, the eating process is also between 2-3 weeks. I will likely put the chrysalis on my balcony and protect it with thin fleece so no predator can get them and to see if they will hibernate… (natural temperature as in opposite in my apartment).
I read somewhere that it’s possible that a butterfly can stay actually quite long in a chrysalis, when conditions are right it will emerge.
2 years ago I had 2 butterflies chrysalis and the 4 of them ate all my parsley and I went out to buy a new one… but it was earlier in summer…
choitrio
#1715
My daughter just accepted Microsoft’s offer of employment as a Product Manager for one of their cloud computing departments. She will be one of the youngest PMs with a software engineering background. So proud!
