Minnesota Morning

Last Saturday (July 26), after we rushed home from our annual family vacation, we attended a "farewell" party for a man who has been an instrumental part of the Land of Lakes Choirboys organization since the very beginning. He is leaving the organization to take another job in southern MN, one that affords him the opportunity to build some security for retirement. He did not leave by choice, but by necessity. It is an unfortunate fact that a struggling non-profit organization like the choir cannot afford to provide retirement benefits for it's employees. That being said, John Fitzgerald leaves a legacy at the Land of Lakes Choirboys second to none. While the music is arguably the most important component of the choir experience, in John's eyes the boy always came first. To paraphrase P.J. Fanburg, a former choirboy and the young man who will be taking over many of John's responsibilities with the choir, for John "the quality of the musician was more important than the quality of the music". As you can see from the pictures above, John took the time to visit with each and every choirboy who attended the party -- and there were a lot of them! But that is John's way -- to make each individual boy feel important. He is genuinely interested in the boys as individuals, and not just as corporate members of a remarkable choir. Thanks, John!

In tribute to John, many current and former choirboys gathered to sing for him one last time (although I have no doubt that he will be a frequent visitor and will attend many Land of Lakes Choirboys concerts in the future). The song they sang is one of the choir's "signature" songs -- "Minnesota Morning", by Jeff Brooks. Mr. Brooks has dedicated this song to the Land of Lakes Choirboys, and even attended the farewell party in person! Here is a video I took of the occasion. Grant and Mark both sang. Isaac attended the party, but because we were on vacation when the rehearsal for the song took place (and his choir has not learned this song) he did not feel comfortable singing, so he stayed in the audience and watched along with Art and myself.

We Have Butterflies!!!!

Yesterday morning (Sunday 7/13/08) we discovered that our first two chrysalises had opened and two butterflies had emerged. I was disappointed that we had missed the actual moment the butterflies came out, but realized that we still had 4 more opportunities to catch the "big moment". We played with our two newborn butterflies a little bit yesterday, and released them early this morning (7/14/08). Shortly after that, our third butterfly emerged (we missed the very beginning of it). Another chrysalis was ready to hatch, so Isaac and I kept a close eye on it, and luckily we caught it from the very first moment! Here are the two video clips put together into one "movie". The first part of the clip isn't great video, because I wasn't properly prepared, but when the second butterfly emerges about half-way through the clip, you will get a very good look at the process. It is FAST! We determined that the two butterflies that hatched yesterday were male, while the two that hatched today are female. Check this link to see how to determine the gender of a Monarch butterfly.



Here is another website with some fantastic photographs documenting the Monarch's life cycle.

LOOK THROUGH EYES OF HOPE AND SEE A BUTTERFLY INSIDE THE CATERPILLAR, HOPE KNOWS THAT BEAUTY IS WAITING TO BE BORN IN THE UNLIKELIEST PLACES ... Thea Miller Ryan

Caterpillar to Chrysalis

We have had a fun summer project happening at our house. A retired couple from our church asked me if I thought Isaac would enjoy raising monarch butterflies. When I responded "Absolutely!" they generously made arrangements to bring us a butterfly cage they had constructed, fully loaded with 5 caterpillars, milkweed for the caterpillars to feed on and twigs for them to climb around on. After a couple of days, we noticed there were 6 caterpillars in our cage! Apparently there was an un-hatched egg on one of the milkweed leaves, and our "Late Bloomer" became our favorite caterpillar (mostly because we could easily distinguish him from the others since he was so much smaller). The summer schedule being what it is, we planned to head out to the lake over the 4th of July. We made sure there was plenty of fresh milkweed for our caterpillar friends, and just before we left on the evening of the 3rd, we noticed that one of the caterpillars was hanging from the roof of the cage in the tell-tale "J" formation that signals it is getting ready to shed it's skin and move into the chrysalis stage. Indeed, when we arrived back home late Saturday night, the 5th of July, we discovered that 4 of our caterpillars had made the transformation, and the fifth had J'd up and was ready to change. By Sunday morning, there were 5 chrysalis's in the cage. Our Late Bloomer continued munching and growing, however -- as always, just a few days behind his cohorts. This morning, I discovered him hanging from the roof. He was ready to move on as well. I vowed I would not miss this moment, so I parked myself next to the cage with a good book and kept a close eye on Bloomer. At about 11:45 this morning, he seemed to get somewhat agitated, wiggling and struggling in an unusual way. Pretty soon he started to straighten out and what I can only describe as "contractions" began to occur along the entire length of his body. I quickly grabbed my camera, put it in video mode, and called the boys to come and watch! I have posted, for your viewing, the video I took of this incredible transforming process. It happened surprisingly fast, as you will see. I hope you enjoy it and find it as interesting as we did!

According to reading I have done, the chrysalis's should be ready to hatch into butterflies about 10 to 14 days after they form. That means all but late bloomer should hatch before we leave on our annual vacation up north. We might have to bring Bloomer with us and release him up there, if he has not hatched by the time we leave. I don't know how exactly we will transport a chrysalis that is only a few days (or perhaps hours) from hatching, but be assured, I will find a way!



For more information on monarch butterfly life cycles, and how to get involved with raising your own, go to www.monarchwatch.org