Frasscinating!

This Monarch caterpillar, hanging around today in the gardens of TWWIAGE, is enjoying a nice snack of milkweed.  In fact, this caterpillar will have to do more than just nibble on this leaf, it will have to consume a huge amount of milkweed in order to bulk up its body mass prior to pupation. During the two weeks the caterpillar takes to go through five instars of growth it can increase its original body weight up to 2000 times.  Apparently, a Monarch caterpillar can chomp through one milkweed leaf in under 4 minutes.  That's a lot of milkweed.  And a lot of frass, or caterpillar poop to the layperson.  (Ha!  I just typed the word poop.  Titter, titter.)  I love nature.

Nothing runs like a...cake?

Now, that's what I call a cake!
Keeping up with my family's love affair - on both sides of the Atlantic - with all things John Deere, it is only fitting that my Nephew OTW's birthday cake is a fetching-confection of John Deere green.  With yellow trim, of course.
Happy 2nd birthday little one, Auntie Vinogirl loves you very much.

The boy's toys.

I eventually made it home to England after surviving being served a loathsome glass of 2002 Lanson Gold Label Brut on my transatlantic flight, and a tortuous 5 1/2 hour layover in Frankfurt...phew!  It's good to be finally home; familiar faces, places and foods.  

The main purpose for this trip was the celebration of my nephew's first birthday.  Baby Thud has been walking for four months now and those little feet must've been getting tired, so something peddle-powered was just what the boy needed.  And, on the off chance that I was feeling a tad homesick for Napa, Thud provided a smattering of a familiarly distinctive, green and yellow hardware about the courtyard.

Cheers, John Deeres all round!