MONARCH BUTTERFLY WATCH- PART 3

I have been watching the crysalis for almost two weeks now. All of the caterpillars completely disappeared about a week and a half ago-I cannot find their hiding places for their crysali, but I know they are in my garden. Several days ago, I saw a monarch fluttering up from the daisies I have (still blooming), then disappeared into the woods nearby.

Every day I check my crysalis in the morning on the way out to work, and in the evening when I get home. This past weekend, I noticed a distinct change-if you look closely at the photos, you can actually see the "mosaic" pattern of the monarch's wing inside! How amazing! This is truly a miracle to contemplate-it is such an amazing thing to see, this fat striped little caterpillar has been in there for almost two weeks and like magic-he is becoming a gorgeous butterfly which is going to emerge any day and then fly thousands of miles south for the winter. I can barely believe it!

I know that this crysalis is very close to opening up-I am so afraid that I will miss it, since I do have to go to work every day! Today I got home and as I stepped onto the sidewalk, I saw a monarch perched on top of the daisies, opening and closing her(?) wings. I could tell that she had just emerged as her wings were still all crinkly looking, not entirely opened up. I offered my hand and she crawled right aboard, allowing me to take a couple of close-ups with her wings open. I gently let her go-she fluttered down to the ground, her wings still not quite ready to support her-she crawled up the plants and perched there for another photo. I hope she survives her long journey! She did not come from the crysalis I have been watching, though-that is still hanging there, but looking about to pop open any minute now. There must be many of them tucked away somewhere under the daisies, there had to have been at least 50 caterpillars, so I expect to see lots of butterflies taking flight in the next week or so!

MONARCH BUTTERFLY WATCH PART 2- CHRYSALIS!

Today, about a week after I first spotted the caterpillars, they have almost completely exfloiated the milkweed-I was becoming concerned that they would have no place to attach themselves to form each pale green chrysalis, but I was excited to find the first one today when I got home from work, tucked on a leaf down among the branches. There could be more, but I could only find this one so far. From what I have learned, I think the butterfly should emerge in about 10 days. I plan to keep a close watch and hope to get a photo or two (hopefully this will happen when I am not at work!

MONARCH BUTTERFLY WATCH 2010

A couple of days after Labor Day, I was poking around one of the bushes in my flowerbed taking photos of a praying mantis who had been hanging around in a small fir tree for the past month. She (I think a "she" due to the brownish color) was sitting on a branch and apparently watching me, as her head was turning as I homed in to get a photo of her. After the flash went off, she kind of reared up towards me-a little scary, but I am sure that was her purpose-"go away you person with that bright light in my face"! I tickled her underbelly to get her to move a little, but she stood her ground. Next, since I had to give the flowers a little water, I let the water gently shower on her, and she just kind of flattened herself on the branch and appeared to almost tuck her head down to avoid the "raindrops". I decided to leave her alone to her hunting and went on to checking out the rest of the garden, intending on getting some of the debris of faded and dried up flowers left from the summer pruned off and cleaned up.

Out of the corner of my eye, something oddly colorful drew my attention to a small leafy plant that I was unable to identify as one that I had ever put there. It was a very pretty caterpillar-bright stripes and little black feet...crawling along on this leaf, intent on eating as much of it as possible. Then I noticed not one more but at least 25 or more of them in several sizes, all quietly chomping away on their respective leaves-almost one caterpillar for every leaf! Wow! So then I looked at my other plants to see if they were on them-but no, they were concentrated only on this one plant. Odd.

My next step after getting some photos of them was to look them up in a reference book I have, and found that they are the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly! And the reason they were only on this one mystery plant is that they ONLY eat milkweed-this is a milkweed that must have been self-planted sometime earlier in the summer-I had been pruning it down thinking it was phlox, since it is kind of in the middle of a patchof purple phlox. I keep the phlox cut back until late July and it forces more blooms in August. Evidently pruning the milkweed kept it from forming those big seed pods that I used to love to pry open when I was a kid.

So now I am excited-I have monarch butterfly caterpillars in my garden! My next step was to look into their life cycle to see what they are doing here this late in the season. It turns out that this generation (the last of 4 born each year) is the one that will become the monarchs that migrate to Mexico to overwinter, then return in the early spring, lay eggs and die. (The first generation comes from these eggs-they hatch as caterpillars, eat until full grown, attach to a leaf and make a chrysalis from silk they spin around themselves, and a few weeks later come out as butterflies). This generation will shortly lay eggs and then die, these eggs become generation 2, then will come generation 3. The only butterflies that migrate are generation 4, born in September.

It is truly a miracle how these butterflies are able to migrate to Mexico, spend the winter and come back to start the cycle over again. The real mystery is that when they go to their winter grounds, they go to the exact same trees to live in year after year-even though each year's migration has never been there before!

Back to my garden....I am posting photos now as I watch daily for the metamorphosis- I will keep posting photos here as things happen, I am hoping to be able to see them emerge as butterflies!

Getting Ready for Acadia-part 1

After 8 years, we are finally getting back to Acadia, our favorite place on the planet. Most of our time is spent riding our bikes on the carriage roads-over 50 miles of them in the mountains of Acadia National Park. An 8 mile ride there is like a 50 mile ride on paved roads elsewhere! We desperately need to get in shape! I am ashamed to admit we have not been on our bikes for 6 years. Flat tires have been pumped up and the rack's on the Venza-time to go for a shakedown cruise...(vacation is only weeks away!).

Today dawned as a cloudy but slightly cooler day than yesterday which was a midsummer style hot & humid one. Bikes were loaded onto the new rack-it's a breeze and only takes a minute, no bungees or straps needed! My sister joined us at the Whitehall parking lot on the NCRR trail and we rode north. The sun was in and out and there was a little breeze to combat the lingering humidity from yesterday. I could hear a hawk circling above us, calling out-a sign from my deceased Dad, I am sure. He visits in the form of a red-tailed hawk, and lets me know he is ok.
Halfway into our ride, we passed "gnome town" a little gnome village on a mini mountain along the trail-so kitschy it's cute! Many gnomes! Roadside America in miniature.





After a stop for gnome photos, we rode on. Haven't been on the NCRR for a long time (too long!) and it has become much more "populated" than I remember, but for the most part users were courteous and stuck by the rules.....of course there is always going to be that one person who feels he is somehow exempt from the ALL DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH AT ALL TIMES rule. How is it that some folks just think they can do as they please is beyond my understanding on all levels. I just hoped that the dog would stay to the side as we passed, and not charge us as one did to me on a previous ride. The owner of this dog was oblivious, but thankfully his dog was better behaved than his owner. (Don't get me wrong, I love dogs! But having been attacked by an unleashed dog with an owner insisting he was friendly, you can understand my caution, and appreciation for owners who obey the rules...)

Another stop by a bridge was our turning point, as Danny's and my rears were hurting from the bike seats (I have enough "padding" back there that it shouldn't bother me!). The ride back was slightly downhill, so we had a nice breeze in our faces and mostly a coast back to the car. Our maiden voyage of ten miles was a success-but we surely will need some more conditioning for the rides in Acadia.

a little p.s. .... My wrists used to hurt so bad while riding due to carpal tunnel syndrome-I would ride for 15 minutes and my hands would be completely numb and feeling just like two cement blocks attached to my wrists. Made my riding a challenge. Well, bilateral carpal tunnel surgeries two years apart worked like magic! No longer cement stumps at the ends of my arms! I can now ride pain-free! (As well as pain-free driving, sleeping, typing, drawing etc etc!)...

CAT TERMINOLOGY
Recently Translated from The Language of Cat
with the help of Abbe and Salty Sachs
copyright 2010 sue sachs

CATTAILS....signaling devices attached to the rear ends of cats

CATACOMB...another term for a cat's tongue which is used to groom and straighten the furs

CATALOG...a record book kept by cats to record "special" events, such as trips to the vet

CATAPULT...the fine art of launching itself to the highest point in a room

CATBIRD...a not very nice way of a cat telling its human to get lost, with a flip of the tail

CATCALL...The Language of Cat (issued forth in a loud volume to get a reaction from the humans)

CATWALK...a style of travel involving delicate balance combined with total nonchalance

CATNAP...the art of sleeping soundly with one ear and one eye at full alert

CATKIN...relatives of a cat, usually quite numerous

CATHOUSE...any home of a human who is owned by one or more cats

CATFISH...a hobby or leisure activity of any cats who have access to an aquarium

CATEGORY...the aftermath of a successful mouse hunt or game of cricket

CATASTROPHE...can have any number of meanings including, but not limited to--the aftermath of overuse of the catacomb (warm wet hairball on floor...); the result of a catapult (broken vase knocked off a shelf...); leftover mess from playing catfish (water all over the floor...); remnants of a territorial dispute between two otherwise sweet soulmate cats in the household (tufts of hair all over the house...); cat art exhibit (shredded furniture, rugs, curtains...).....there are many more!

An Acadia Vacation is in the Works!

It has been eight years since our last vacation in Acadia. A lot has happened to keep us away for so long, but it is finally time again and we are so excited! Acadia is a special place-it has a hold on us and no matter where else our travels have taken us, we always return. Just saying Acadia conjures up the scents of the balsam firs, the hollow clanking sound of the bell buoy near the Thrumcap, the sight of the Porcupines nestled out in the bay wearing their fluffy white foggy coats, the pink granite rocks along the shore, the pink lady's slippers hiding along the path near Bubble Pond, the sound of the bullfrog band out by Witch Hole Pond on a hot day, a cool breeze wafting up over Sergeant Mountain from Somes Sound...

A huge part of our time in Acadia is spent riding our bikes on the carriage roads throughout the park. Our favorites are the Giant Slide ride-including the wicked Seven Bridges (I have been known to call them the Seven B***ches!); the ride around Eagle Lake (up and around Connor's Nubble and down the side of Jordan Pond, over the Triad and down to Bubble Pond, finishing down the other side of Eagle Lake); around Witch Hole Pond and up to Aunt Betty's Pond (great little picnic spot) and of course the 20 mile ride along the entire Park Loop Road, with a finish at Jordan Pond House for a couple of hot popovers.

Well, the new Venza (actually she will be a year old on 4/22) is almost ready for her first trip to Acadia. I just ordered a trailer hitch and bike rack for her-the hitch will be installed at the Toyota dealer on the 19th-we will have to get on the bikes and get in shape during May so we are ready to ride in June! The bikes are in need of some tuning up-hopefully I will work on that this coming weekend.

Please check back here-I will be posting off and on and then daily while we are in Maine in June.

Is The "Customer Always Right"?

I have been a veterinary receptionist for about 4-1/2 years now. It was a career change for me, but I have always had a job where I dealt with customers. Customer service ("with a smile") is crucial in any business-in fact at my first employer, we were taught that "the customer is always right". It was the mantra we lived by-without the customer, there would be no business, so we made them happy at all costs. But is the customer always right? How much can be tolerated before you can say "Enough!"?

I drive 695 at 7am every morning from Cockeysville to Catonsville. Traffic is horrible every day. You get used to it and allow time. I could scream when a client is making an appointment and doesn't want the 8:30, the 8:50 or even the 9:10 because "it's too early, I don't want to be in the traffic". Stop whining! We do it every day-you will only have to do it once!

I am checking a client out and our vet has requested a follow up visit in 4 weeks. This requires me to negotiate a date that is available and suitable to the client. How is it possible to do this while the client is standing there talking on her cell phone, with no intention of hanging up? Last week, I had to talk "over" the conversation she was having, had to select a date for the client and hope that she heard me when she said that's fine and flew out the door, still talking on her cell. She will be the first one to show up late or not show at all next time.

Then there is the client who has a recheck appointment which has a 20 minute time slot allowed. She arrives in the parking lot 5 minutes after her appointment time and then proceeds to rearrange her purse (or make a cell call, put on makeup etc) and finally walks in the door halfway through her allocated time. How fair is this to the next client, who happens to be on time, but will be seen late now because of her?

My boss has a call-in hour every morning before appointments. It is 7:30-8:30am. There is no charge for this service. Established clients are encouraged to call in to speak directly to the vet with updates or questions, as an alternative to playing phone tag during the day relaying questions from me to the vet and back. I can't tell you how many people complain that they just can't call then, they aren't up that early.... please! This is just one time to get up early-can't they appreciate that they are getting access to the vet at no charge and don't have to go through the receptionist to talk to him directly?

I love new clients who go to the trouble to make the appointment, we mail out our paperwork (a 2 page questionnaire to fill out ahead of time) and they show up with it still in the unopened envelope!! So the first ten minutes of a $195 initial appointment is spent filling this out instead of with the vet.

I really love the no-shows! They are so considerate of others-probably many of the same folks who cut me off on 695 in the mornings. How hard would it be to make a one minute phone call to cancel so that someone on the wait list can be gotten in sooner? Well, just to be fair, we keep track of no-shows and two times is the charm. That client will have to prepay for the next visit-it is non-refundable if they fail to show up.

Many of our animals are on allergy shots. Most of our clients are careful and diligent in giving these injections at home on schedule. (They are taught how to do this by our techs). There are some who must know more than the vet and decide on their own to alter the shot schedule by changing the dose or the frequency-sometimes to save money ( "stretching out the shots" to avoid having to get refills as often), sometimes just because they "forget" or for some reason can't keep to a schedule. These folks must think we are dense! We know how long a 10cc vial of allergy serum will last at a given dose and frequency! You wouldn't believe the stories I hear when I question a client about the dosing when it is obvious that it is being refilled many months later than it should have been. Some insist they are on schedule -like the one last week who was supposed to be doing a 0.5cc injection every week and had gotten a 10cc vial 9 months ago, still with several doses left in it. That vial should have lasted 20 weeks, not 36 weeks! When confronted, she finally admitted to "maybe missing a few doses here and there". Come on, people! You are injecting something into your dog that it is allergic to! Don't you think it would be prudent to follow the schedule that a board-certified veterinarian with over 25 years experience has given you?

Many of our animals are allergic to foods. In order to control the allergy, an allergy food diet must be strict. Don't spend a fortune to come in and be asked to feed a strict diet for 2 months and then say that you cannot avoid giving your dog pieces of bacon, spaghetti, cheese, treats, table scraps, eggs, pork chops and the like! You can't avoid this? What, does your dog have the ability to open the fridge and get what he wants? Who is in charge here?

If your pet is on a long-term medicine, couldn't you take 5 minutes and learn the name of it? When you call in for a refill, please don't ask for the "little green pills that Fluffy takes". If you ask for it by name, I will be impressed that you care enough about your pet's care to have learned that medicine's name!

The internet! A client spends an average of $600 for a first visit to our office. The client's regular veterinarian has enough trust in my boss to refer his valued clients to us. But there is always that pet owner who upon leaving our office rushes home to do her own "research" on the internet. Forget that half the stuff on there is from questionable sources, or may be accurate but outdated. One of the phrases that I hate is "I read it on the internet"!

I could go on and on...
---clients do not follow specific medication directions, then complain that the pet is not improving
---clients who bring in their dogs off-leash and watch them as they relieve themselves on our lobby floor
---clients who leave the exam room to use the restroom and leave their anxious dog in there to claw frantically on the door, leaving huge marks on the door
---clients who allow their dogs to poop on the parking lot/sidewalk and don't have the courtesy of cleaning it up, or at least telling us so we can clean it up
---clients who are not forthcoming about their aggressive dog-PLEASE don't let us find out the hard way that your dog has to be muzzled to have its feet or ears examined!
---clients who are asked to make an appointment within two weeks (before a medicine runs out) and they say they will call back....they wait two weeks, the meds need a refill and now our appointment slots are full for two weeks out. They proceed to complain loudly that either they have to have the refill NOW, or we have to find some way to fit them into a full schedule NOW. Hey, it's not our fault they waited til the last minute to call back.

So, is the customer always right? I bite my lip, give them a big smile, take their money and thank them for coming in. After they're gone I go out back and scream.
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