Our family spent this past weekend at my parents’ house, and when we arrived, their grammy had a very special surprise for our kids…a monarch caterpillar in an aquarium! Eva (my daughter) spent the weekend carefully feeding the caterpillar fresh milkweed leaves, and checking regularly to see whether it was eating or not. She gave it a name (Crocodile Flower), and we got to take the baby caterpillar home with us to observe.

Right now, Crocodile Flower is only a teeny tiny caterpillar, but as long as we take good care of her, and offer plenty of fresh milkweed, we’ll be able to watch as she grows and grows and then creates her chrysalis. In about three weeks or so, Eva and I will be able release our beautiful monarch butterfly into the wild.

The other day, she and I were discussing a veterinarian office we’d seen, and she asked me whether the animal doctor took care of caterpillars too. I told her I didn’t know, but that I thought most vets cared for pets like dogs and cats and bunnies and things. Eva thought for a minute, and then she announced “I am going to be a caterpillar doctor when I grow up.”

A noble profession, indeed.

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger

Tags: Mom Talk, Shannon's Blogs
Posted in : Mom Talk, Shannon's Blogs