Not in front of . . .

. . . but behind, very behind.

I've had a really hard time keeping up these past few weeks,

so today,  I am surrendering to it.

"The key is not to prioritize what's on the schedule, 

but to schedule your priorities."  - Stephen Covey

SO, instead of the intended post of part 2 in my monarch series, (which will resume next week),

I have a whole lotta random to share.

1. I'm so very sad that Nancy over at A Rural Journal has decided that she has come to the end of the blogging road. I so understand and admire the difficult decision, but she will be missed.

2. I finished my last bible study class yesterday...best bible study EVER, Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. Her bible studies are very powerful and this was NO exception. We conclude each study day with a video from Beth and let's just say this last one brought us to our knees, literally to our knees - it was a sight, and overwhelming heart experience.

3. I have just four more classes left to finish this piece I've been working on . . . there has been a lot of sawing going on. All of the small flowers are actually charms and just being used to help design here. The hardest part of finishing this piece will be choosing and coordinating colors for all the flowers. I see a gardener's color wheel in my future. The flowers will be cold connected with bolts to a back plate, which they are temporarily on now, and the back plate will have an aged patina of some kind. I think I would really like to etch some words into the back as well and I still need to decide what design I'm going to pierce out of the back plate as well. . . . and then there is the decision of what kind of chain to use. If I can't find one that feels right, I may have to make my own. 

4. As I'm sitting here typing I have my black swallowtail chrysalis sitting next to me, I can't decide if it's going to emerge today or tomorrow? So I'm ready just in case!! ;)

5. And speaking of caterpillars . . . .I have very sad news. The almost 100 monarch eggs I started with had equated to just 14 that made it to a chrysalis. I kept checking on them right after they hatched and was finding day and two day old cats dead, hanging by just a thread from the leaves. As days went by, I was seeing less and less cats, but no clue why. When they are small they can play hide and seek like no ones business, so I didn't panic . . . until last week when I came home to a caterpillar apocalypse. Big, beautiful, chunky caterpillars days away from pupating found hanging limp, some from a thread and some inverted in a "v" shape and most dripping green liquid like they were melting. It. Was. Horrible!! There were many tears shed at my house last week. Upon hours of research I think I know why they died. There are so many diseases that these cats can get...but there is a very deadly virus called NPV that can wipe out the entire lot of them on the plants. When one gets it (and it's something found naturally in the wild) it can contaminate the leaves with it's frass (poo) or any of the green liquid that leaves crystals behind. Another caterpillar walks though it or eats a crystal containing the virus and it just keeps on going like the energizer bunny. So not only did I lose most all of those caterpillars, but I also had to throw away all contaminated plants - $100 worth! I also made the very tough decision, although I have drug my feet, to euthanize all remaining chrysalis to be on the safe side. My heart is broken . . . 

6. Our church does a Good Friday experience where they invite artists to submit work with a small blurb about what inspired the piece. This year I did a series from seed to butterfly in photos (8 in all) and all framed together in one frame. But this year of all years they gave us a 120 word maximum, rofl! Can you imagine me, trying to reduce what I wrote (before I realized) down to 120 words. Last night was the artist's reception before they open it to the church members and public on Friday and as I had second guessed myself on what I shared and wrote, I was very pleased that it was well received. Since I have never entered a juried competition before, this might have given me a little confidence to try. 

7. Oh, and one more . . . it's pretty safe to say that I take more photographs than I could probably share here if I posted everyday. The hubby and I went to the beach a few weeks back, after we ate in Galveston, for a sunset walk. Just as it was getting too dark to see anything on the beach, we got in the car to leave. The sky was just starting to turn these beautiful colors, but it wasn't until we got past the houses that I saw this. It was one of those, "honey I have to find a spot to to photograph this." So racing against the clock of time we found this perfect spot to pull over so that I could get out. But word of advice, remember to put your camera back to auto focus after taking (purposeful) blurry shots because even though you keep snapping and they look good on the back of your screen, you will be very disappointed when a bunch of them just weren't in sharp focus.

Well, if I haven't already lost you with the length of this post, I wish you and your family and very blessed Easter. Our girl is coming home today and I can't believe in a matter of weeks we will be going to get her and all her things to bring her back for the summer. Where has this school year gone?

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friday Finds