Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
Crown Flower in the Supermarket Nursery -- Honolulu, August 9, 2009
NOTE: DoT has been posting from Honolulu since late July when she left California to help her mother through some medical procedures. She will be doing so until she can return to Orange County.
DoT’s Thot: “Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be endangered.” — Dalai Lama
Supermarket Nursery– My Old Reliable Source of Gifts for Mother
Seeking ways to entertain a 92 year old mother, I visited a supermarket garden shop in (Moiliili) Honolulu that I have frequented for years. On every visit home, I have looked for plants and flowers to give Mom. One year I found an orchid plant with green blossoms. On this visit, as I wandered around, picking up vegetable seeds and potting soil, I walked out into the garden open area. It was bright and sunny and the full sun plants were getting all the rays they needed.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller 9 Aug. 09
Crown Flower — Excellent Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller Food
Over at one end of the rows of plants, I suddenly realized that I was staring at a pot with a white crown flower plant in it. For a commercial plant, it looked strangely moth-eaten with large holes in the leaves. All the other plants looked whole and commercially, cosmetically highly presentable. I looked closer and sure enough, there it was, a Monarch Butterfly caterpiller, large and succulent, munching away. I thought it a bit odd.
Goodbye to My Supermarket Garden Shop
Upon checking out, I overheard a conversation between a customer and clerk and discovered that the supermarket garden shop would be closing in a month or so. I was stunned and joined the conversation — my reliable nursery would be no more. None of the garden shop staff knows about their futures as yet; the nursery is another victim of the economic downturn.
Compassion in Survival: Hope for the Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller
As I packed the potting materials and plants into the car, I realized that the staff has conscientiously cared for all the plants. If I had not heard the conversation, I, as a visitor, would never have known about the employment issues — the Monarch Butterfly caterpiller was being spared by the staff. I took my camera, went back and took a few pictures to share with you the aloha (love) and ohana (family) in the supermarket garden shop that will soon be dispersed and go elsewhere.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller -- oopsy daisy, up and over
With the timetable they have, there is time for a butterfly to emerge from the Monarch Butterfly caterpiller. I truly hope all the staff find positions — I will miss them all, people and butterfly..
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
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- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
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- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
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