LilyLeftTheValley
LightNews LightNews
banner
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
LilyLeftTheValley
@lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
1.4K followers 500 following 1.9K posts
I have lived in many valleys. I have left them all.

#NOICIUTU

Hobby level naturalist in 5b & er58g.

What a timeline to be living!

PFP: Balloon art lily of the valley
Banner: ink drawing of a forest of fantastical beings of many sizes and types
Posts Replies Media Videos
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
If you see this post a vampire who isn't Dracula.
Well worn paperback variant of Bunnicula: A rabbit-tale of mystery by Deborah and James Howe. The illustration by Alan Daniel depicts a black and white rabbit with red eyes atop the front paws of a warm shaggy furred dog atop a small circular rug with black edging and a soft blue inner circle. Peeking out from behind the dog is the head and a front paw of a red tabby cat with soft green eyes.
October 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I took one for you this morning. Enjoy!
Interior flash digital photo taken on August 19 2025 near nine in the morning of a windowsill within a New England home. A portion in the upper left corner is an old triple track window system a screen panel with a few different types of green leaves from the plants outdoors. Resting in the corner of the lower wood framing of the closed window with its finish beaded over time and the tightly grained wood sill and framing which includes a bit of the metal sash pocket hardware in view is a small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand rusty orange colored crocheted anthropomorphized dumpster on fire. At the dumpster's base are four circular light gray wheels. At the top, a bit of a white hump peeks out which resembles a big garbage bag. Atop the white is a tuft of three yellow centered red flames. There are two tiny shiny black beads for eyes and a U shaped stitched red smile on the front of the dumpster. Held in two tiny extended arms at each side of the dumpster's front is a soft cornered white sign that states in five separate lines of black comic sans lettering, "Emotional Support Dumpster Fire It's fine I'm fine Everything is fine!"
August 19, 2025 at 2:07 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Released the first Monarch today. The other two are likely to also be gone if not tomorrow, then the day after.

Unfortunately, the timing wasn't good for the neighbor's grandkids, but we're hoping they'll be able to watch in person at least one of the last two remaining. 🤞

#MonarchGuardian
Digital photo taken a bit before 6pm on August 8, 2025 off the western side of the front porch of a home in New England. The focal point is a male Monarch butterfly that eclosed earlier in the day that is clinging to the top of a tall herbaceous stem with a plethora of thin smooth edged light green leaves left of center in the image. The setting sun's rays create a dappled glow to the Monarch's wings which were caught mid flap, showing the slight curvature to the top outer edges of each wing. Behind the butterfly are soft wind blurred more golden than green grasses which were left to grow to seed instead of mowed at the next door property's front yard, giving the appearance of a wild meadow despite the reality of the location.
August 8, 2025 at 10:37 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Not many berries in my oatmeal, but some didn't last long enough to be added in there. 😋

Sooo many pollinators outside. Makes me happy.

Hope you are soon to be enjoying something delicious as well.
Digital photo taken around 9:30 am on August 4,2025 inside a home in New England. The focus is a downward look into two mugs. The white one has the handle turned in the 12:00 position and has oatmeal with a small handful's worth of deep blue dewberries tossed on top and a smooth handled spoon that is mostly obscured by the contents in the mug. To the right of that mug is another taller with a black exterior glaze and a yellow green interior that is filled with black tea. A bit of a pale blue folded cloth napkin is left of the mug filled with oatmeal. At the upper edge of the image the lower portion of an old fashioned desk calendar with a mostly black marbled base mottled with some yellow tones and atop of that is the worn brass section with tiny knobs on each side. On the left, there is one to roll to the proper month and on the right, one to roll to the correct day of the week. Glare mostly obscures AUG and MON which they were set to at that moment. Atop the base a light colored pencil with a green eraser top that are used once the original eraser has been spent is partly seen. The green eraser top shows use and is closest to the tea mug. Another pencil eraser top that is pink rests partly in the shadow of the desk top calendar.
August 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Thank you and I am thinking of you and those who are waiting for us at the bridge.

[Related...I don't remember if this has come up before or not, but...
1/2
Black line drawing on a white background of an otter with the words I just freaking love otters, ok underneath the otter.
August 4, 2025 at 1:39 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Nothing like trying to get a decent picture of someone you love to realize maybe you should vacuum in that room. 🫣

Mendel is still shy, but compared to how he used to be? He's come out of his Spirit Cat shell a lot since he entered into our lives which makes my heart sing.
#Caturday
Digital photo taken just after 7 am on August 2, 2025 in a home in New England. The focus is a long haired black cat named Mendel that is already trying to escape from being captured in this moment. The cat's body has the tail curled around it save a thwippy annoyed tail tip and his head has a slight blur as he keeps trying to evade image capture. The cat is atop a low pile navy background area rug that has a geometric theme with many similar sized squares of various outline, fill and center shape color combinations. There is a gap that is missing a row of squares so the last row nearest the edge acts as a border in its own right. The rug atop a warm colored thin plank wood floor ends just under the leftmost legs of a Midcentury Modern coffee table the cat is partly under. A red plaid blanket that is atop the table out of frame partly hangs over the rightmost edge of the table in the upper right corner. Behind the cat's rump, along the left edge of frame is a burgundy throw that covers another coffee table of a completely different style which is mostly out of frame and hidden by the throw. Behind the cat more table legs can be made out between the exterior light colored wall and a pale colored couch.
August 2, 2025 at 11:37 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Spotted this garden spider a few moments ago, Argiope aurantia. Their web includes a characteristic zig-zag stabilimentum of their species. Given how bright it is, it's near impossible to make out, but if one peers at the shadow behind, the thicker bits "show".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabili...
Digital photo taken just after 1 pm of the west side of a porch in New England. In sharp contrast to the dull grey vertical stripes of the cement fiberboard, the bright yellow and black bodied garden spider with legs that from orange near the body to black at their tips seems to be hovering, as the web they rest on is quite difficult to make out. In the lower right corner, various shades and shapes of greenery from annual plants are present and reach up to just above halfway up the frame. The sun swinging its westward way around the sky causes strong shadows from both the plants in the image as well as taller plants nearby but out of the frame.
August 1, 2025 at 5:50 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Sharing a pic of their shed skins. The 2 newer pupae still appear a bit stripey in their process of outer hardening stage of forming their chrysalises. They were much further along than the ones pictured in the link below.

All 3 are near the door.😅
#MonarchGuardian

jackiedelia.com/garden/butte...
Interior digital photo taken a bit before 7:00 am on July 30, 2025 in a home in New England. It is a closeup of two entirely black crumply Monarch Caterpillar skins that have been shed and fallen to the light brown recycled cardboard paper towel used within the base of the enclosure the Monarchs are being reared for easier cleanup within the enclosure. To the left of them, the paper towel retains the impression of the glass canning jar that held milkweed stalks for the caterpillars to eat prior to their getting ready to pupate.
July 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Yep. Their life cycles are humming along quite briskly, which is on track with the infographic I posted prior which stated how environmental temperatures can affect Monarch growth rates.
bsky.app/profile/lily...
#MonarchGuardian
Interior digital photo taken near 10:30 am on July 29, 2025 in a home in New England. The focus is of the top of a white mesh butterfly rearing enclosure. There are two late instar Monarch caterpillars as well as a newly formed chrysalis present. The caterpillar nearest the top edge is just a bit behind the chrysalis. The detail of all three are softly obscured by the white mesh of the enclosure's door. Only the barest trace of the grass green edging that gently curves at the roof of the enclosure is present at the top of the image. At the bottom of the image a bit right of center, a top stalk portion of common milkweed with all its leaves chewed off is just right of center.
July 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Right after I posted? Saw this.

Spotted a wee 1st instar outside when I went to cut another stalk top just in case. Given I'm already way behind in many things right now, I'm not bringing it in because there's other projects I need to finish before fall--both indoors and out.
#MonarchGuardian
Interior digital photo taken just before 7pm in a home in New England. The focus is a Monarch caterpillar just left of the center top that is hanging inside a white mesh enclosure with a bit of the grass green edging of the enclosure running along the top of the image. In the upper right corner, part of a tiny wooden clothespin clipped to the enclosure is present. The caterpillar is hanging upside down in what is known as a J formation in preparation for its transformation first to a chrysalis and then butterfly. Below is a top stalk portion of common milkweed, and some of the leaves on the left side have been chewed down by the caterpillars that have been living inside the enclosure.
July 28, 2025 at 11:19 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I almost posted the "messy teen" image I took to show how much they ate in one day, but it's sooooo full of 💩 and folks might not want that image in their head.

The left instar had made its way out of the enclosure during the cleanout, and I had to gently return it--hence double 🍃.
#MonarchGuardian
Close up slightly blurry interior digital photo taken late afternoon inside a home in New England of the interior of a white mesh butterfly rearing enclosure with the zipper door open and tucked out of frame. A freshly cut top portion of common milkweed stalk is supported by a low glass canning jar filled with various neutral colored pebbles. Three later stage Monarch instars are partly visible on three different leaves, the one to the left was from a different stalk and is placed on top of a larger leaf. The tail end of another is on the nearest right of center leaf. The third is on a leaf at the right rear of the enclosure.
July 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Side view of the image taken in 2019 that I shared last #Caturday.
Interior digital image taken near noon on August 19 2019 in a home in New England. On the left side of the image is a white mesh butterfly rearing enclosure atop a warm stained wood table with a single Monarch butterfly drying its wings near at the top. Sitting in a open backed dining room chair is a long haired black cat. Most of the cat's body is hidden by the table save the head in rapt attention of the butterfly and a scant bit of its lower back at the lower edge of the frame. Along the right edge of the image is a partial view of a large wood framed window covered by white sheers printed with soft green leaves. The window frame abuts a corner of the room along with the wooden frame of single French door which is open. Right next to the door in the next room is a metal based table lamp with a frosted glass cone shaped shade that is larger and open at the top, with the lower narrow attached to the base. The walls in both rooms are painted a blah beige typical of older homes that have had interior walls repainted to make them appear more neutral to future buyers. A small portion of the warm wood chair rail in the dining room is on the wall behind the cat's head.
July 26, 2025 at 10:26 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I thought at least two caterpillars were visible. Alas, I was wrong. FWIW, none of the baby plant leaves had chewed bits when I clipped it, only the 3 w/ cats on them for transfer. Added another stalk with even more leaves this morn. Black specs on the paper towel are frass (aka 💩). #MonarchGuardian
Interior digital photo taken in a kitchen in New England near 8 am on July 22, 2015 of a single young milkweed stalk in a makeshift tiny canning jar holder to both keep the stalk in place as well as watered. Pebbles of various colors inside the glass portion are the means to support the stalk. Instead of a typical canning lid at the top, a reused bit of metal window screen allows for some flexibility of stem or stems held in the container. Many of the leaves have been heavily munched on by the three Monarch caterpillars on the stalk, although only one can be easily detected on a leaf half way up the stalk on the right hand side of the plant. A recycled cardboard paper towel speckled with frass makes for easier cleaning at the base of the mesh container that surrounds both plant and caterpillars. In the background beyond the mesh enclosure a few kitchen items are present, one of which is a pottery crock on the right with various cooking and baking tools.
July 22, 2025 at 12:37 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Blurry photo of a printed photo taken on film, but I'm sharing it anyway because yes, this could happen. (I think I still have the original somewhere if we ever finish unpacking all the boxes.)
Blurry digital photo of an actual printed photograph taken in the mid to late 1990s. The head and part of the shoulders as well as one forepaw of a turkish van kitten that is loosely held in place by saggy worn bluejeans is just above center of the image. The pouch effect gives the appearance of a reverse part of the body marsupial pouch. Behind the kitten that is staring off to the right is an olive and dusty blue plaid flannel shirt.
July 22, 2025 at 3:14 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
The three cats/larva seem to be doing just fine. I put new leaves in their mesh habitat tonight. Soon their growth spurts will be even more obvious.

image credit: journeynorth.org/monarchs/ima...
[FWIW? Hardest AltTxt to fit in the character restrictions to date for me! 😅]

#MonarchGuardian
Journey North graphic top titled Monarch butterfly life cycle. Upper right corner text states egg to adult 22 to 37 days if temperatures are 72 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. In the center is a pie chart with three directional arrows at the edges of three different shades of soft green sections that lighten clockwise. The smallest pie section at the top states Egg 3 to 5 days which has a zoomed in image of a pale soft white ridged Monarch egg atop a green milkweed leaf. The next much larger section states Larva 11 to 18 days which has a cropped image of the upper body of a Monarch caterpillar on the bottom of a milkweed leaf. The edge of the leaf is partially eaten by the white, black and green tinged yellow banded caterpillar with black antenna slightly curved toward the ends. Blurry deeper green plants beyond the leaf fill the space remaining in the upper center to right corner. The last pie section slightly smaller than the one before states Chrysalis 8 to 14 days with a cropped image of a Monarch chrysalis with a white backdrop. The black cremaster atop the chrysalis is thin. Widening deep yellow green concentric circle sections below that smooth out after a half horizontal line of black and gold dots on the right hand side. The right side is more kidney bean than the smoother gentle curve of the left side. At the top of the chart, a fully grow adult has a segmented warm shaded black body although the head and shoulders have white dot and one enlongated oval just under the head with two thin antenna splayed far apart that end in a slightly thicker curved end and wings primarily warm yellows to oranges between veins of black with white dots of various sizes over the black has a wing above, and one overlapping the chart. Below a table in the lower left is a snippet stating development rates are temperature dependent Monarchs develop more quickly in warm temperatures and more slowly in cool temperatures. Table text repeats both from the chart and the top right.
July 21, 2025 at 1:13 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
So happy I didn't forget!

A 2018 pic of Oggers peering through the mesh at a Monarch clinging to same with its wings folded within the last enclosure I use where they finish drying their wings and start testing them out before I set them free outdoors and hope my efforts helped.
#Caturday
Interior digital image taken near noon on August 19 2019 in a home in New England. Fine white mesh of a butterfly rearing enclosure softens everything beyond a single almost silhouette of an adult Monarch butterfly with its wings folded that is clinging to the mesh while facing the sunny eastern window covered in white sheer curtains. In the foreground, only part of the shiny clear plastic base of the enclosure atop a warm painted wood table with a few reflections is present. Between the window and the mesh the butterfly clings to, a few other wood furniture pieces are present such as part of an old telephone bench with a bowl and a jar of writing utensils on the shelf, and a wood dining chair. Atop the chair, just the head of a cat sitting on it is just above the zipper of that side of the enclosure. The black long haired cat is curiously peering at the butterfly through the mesh.
July 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I didn't forget to take a picture today.

At some point in the near future, there will be more ripe berries than will fit in this small bowl.
Digital photo taken around nine AM on July 10, 2025 of the interior of a stainless steel bowl with some tiny water droplets present. Eight ripe black raspberries that were picked that morning in a backyard in New England only take up a fraction of the space available. One of the berries second from the right shows the hollow where the berry had been attached to the cane.
July 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
*nods*

Speaking of...spotted this new stalk a bit east and down slope of where the first shared plant grows. I spotted it while weeding out some bits not wanted there yesterday, and snapped a pic today to share with you after a nice breezy walk in the neighborhood.
Color digital photo taken just about 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on July 04, 2025 in a sunny front yard in New England. The focus is of a budding volunteer yellow Rudbeckia among a variety of other green plants and mosses in a small scale WIP selective rewilding project. A few buds are soon to unfurl. A dry patch of mostly dirt is between the stalk and the lower edge of various bits growing at the base of the slope that runs off the left side of the image. In the lower right corner, a fairly crisp edged shadow of the photographer falls over herbaceous growth surrounding the Rudbeckia.
July 4, 2025 at 5:22 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse for our interesting times.

Volunteer native, Spiraea alba aka white meadowsweet, with bonus pollinators of various types.

Apologies for the blur, but the breeze was stubborn about existing and I still haven't been able to get a better camera yet.😅

#DoomscrollBreak 🌱 🌿 📷
Color digital photo taken in late morning Eastern Daylight Time on July 2, 2025 in a sunny front yard in New England. In the foreground, a gentle breeze is the cause of a bit of blur of the three stems in various stages of bloom of white meadowsweet, Spiraea alba. Several types of pollinators, also blurred to various degrees, are busy as work on the bits of the soft white flowers that are in full bloom. The easiest of the pollinators to identify is a bumblebee that is native to New England on the leftmost flowering stem. In the even more out of focus background behind the stems, the edge of a faded green plastic bin with brown plant matter takes up most of the lower edge. The rest is various stems and grasses ranging from soft tan to mid greens. Between the center and the rightmost meadowsweet stems, a compostable pot is near the upper edge of the image. Given the background blur, it is impossible to tell what is sprouting within the pot, if anything.
July 3, 2025 at 12:33 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
In case anyone needs one?

Here's a Timeline Cleanser.

A faithful return visitor since I-forget-what-year I initially planted these out front.

#DoomscrollBreak 🌱 🌿 📷
Color digital photo taken just before 6:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time on June 29, 2025 in a sunny front yard in New England. The focus is of a fully in open petaled glory yellow Rudbeckia almost dead center snapped directly above the main stem of the plant. A few buds with in various early stages of unfurling are present at varied distances from the main bloom, as are their thin green leaves. On the right center edge, the lower portion of a black welly rain boot cuts into the mostly shades of greens and yellows of various lower level grasses and other plants on the sloped lawn. On the left edge, a few leaves of very young sapling are present. One of them has a ruddier than green appearance compared to the rest present.
July 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I don't recall exactly why I snapped this shot of Oggers not long ago, but WOW! That face...

The funny thing is the next shot after this...something distracted him and he's keenly focused on whatever it was outside the office window, but that shot is blurry given I took it as he turned.
#Caturday
Interior color digital photograph taken early in the morning on May 13, 2025 in a home in New England. A large black long haired male cat with a hint of ruddy smoke fur has a single white whisker on each side of its face as it is perched on the nearest edge of a gray steelcase desk partly covered with various items one might have on a personal home desk. The interior wall color is a blah beige, save one smallish odd house shaped corkboard with a variety of small notes pinned to it. To the left of the desk is a fairly generic black office chair with plastic armrests is in front of a mostly empty trash can with a white liner in it. The look on the cat's face as it stares at the picture taker is hard to discern whether it is judging or disappointed in the taker. A sunbeam gently warms the lower right edge through a window out of scene, except for a tiny bit of the far left wood framing. A woven wicker basket is partly visible by the window and the repurposed dark green towel within the blanket appears more white than green due to how strong the sun shining in from the south alights it. At the lower edge, just right of center the upper corner of an old wooden desk chair's rounded back contrasts in shadow against the seemingly bleached towel.
June 22, 2025 at 12:04 AM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Just spotted my first hummingbird moth of the year. Not sure which, as it quickly zipped around the greenery just outside my window. That said, given the warmer shades I think it was a Hummingbird Clearwing aka Hemaris thysbe.

If I'm right...it's like the one in this photo I took in 2020. 🌿 🪲
A color digital photo taken on July 5, 2020 in a backyard in New England. A thick patch of common milkweed in flower is being visited by a Hummingbird Clearwing that is just a bit left and up of center in the frame. The flying native is a type of moth that has a deep warm colored thick band near the middle of its body, with a few partial and thinner similar colored markings below and a dusty yellow section above the band with a slightly olive shaded splotch as if a thumbprint on it's upper body. The moth is native to the area where the image was captured. Given the lower quality of the camera, its wings appear blurred due to the flap speed the moth requires to hover as it feeds from the milkweed's mostly white with bits of pink details umbellate cymes.
June 11, 2025 at 8:25 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Taken today.

Searching for an image match led me to the following: bugguide.net/node/view/13... ecoipm.org/2015/07/27/c... www.umass.edu/agriculture-...

Two different species or updated Latin...? Wiki had nothing. 🌿 🪲
Exterior color photograph taken on June 6, 2025 in a front yard in New England of the end of a volunteer birch sapling's branch a few feet above the ground which is mostly covered with green bits of various herbaceous plants and a young evergreen's branches. Just above center, one leaf's edges are ringed by roughly a dozen black spotted yellow green larvae with black heads that are consuming the birch's leaf. Exterior color photograph taken on June 6, 2025 in a front yard in New England of a volunteer birch sapling. Growing behind and within it is a bittersweet vine. Just above center, as well as just right of center at the top of the image are two yellow larvae facing right with black spots on their bodies as well as having black heads. Both have curved the rear length of their bodies up and over their fronts. The larvae at the top is captured in the moment where they appear as a tight S, whereas the one closer to center at the very top of a more yellow than green birch leaf is flexed more like a J, with only the barest bit of the tip showing the slightest curve. Behind the larvae and plants, a dull gray blue cement siding is present.
June 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
Realized it might be best to keep related bits in one place. So this is from May 4th of this year, roughly 9am. (I honestly thought I posted this before...but probably didn't because obvious reasons given both how blurry and how little of the fox I managed to capture. 🤭)
Softly blurred color digital photo of a property in New England taken mid morning on May 4, 2025. The bottom third of the image is mostly street, with asphalted sidewalk beyond that and on the right side a partial view of a light gray car. In the midground is a low concrete retaining wall that shows considerable need for repair, especially near the left edge of the image. Green grass carpets the ground above the wall. Along the left edge is the back of a gray pickup and a gray sedan with a wood framed elevated patio behind the latter. To the right of patio is a worn stockade fence with a rubbish and recycling bin as well as some hard to distinguish lateral wood framing with something green coming out of the center. Just left of the bins about half their height, a very soft warm shape is mostly obscured which is the rear view of a fox slipping through the yard. In the background is the side and partial view of the back of a white story and a half house with a gray roof and soft blue shutters that flank all the windows. A few mature trees' branches and their respective emerging green leaves are partially revealed just inside both the left and right edges.
June 1, 2025 at 6:47 PM
lilyleftthevalley.bsky.social
I have been remiss about #Caturday. I aim to fix that for at least today.

I can't recall if this was a scan of an actual photo originally, or one of the digital pictures of an actual picture from back in the day.

This is Kira, who outlived both boys from our previous unintended batch of three.
Color photograph of a young female tortoiseshell cat more marbled grays than browns that is looking up at the camera while relaxing on her side atop a warm toned wood floor with her tail running off the top edge of the image. A partial view of a single white paw is beans down in the uppermost right edge.
June 1, 2025 at 12:37 AM