I agree--it's nice to have visuals. I want gardens like I'm seeing--paths with gardens all over! Someday...

Well I just have to say you're all beautiful folk. You all have added a great deal to my learning and I can't thank you all enough.

It all started when I looked up sow bugs and escalated into butterflies and now I'm hooked on moths and bee's. Since I started learning about bugs my whole world has opened up and I see things through new eyes. What I'm wondering is, why did it have to take 48 years?

Edna

Edna, if you click on the picture below, you can see the little video of bees on my buttonbush I made -

{{gwi:478617}}

There's no shortage of bees around here!
Sherry

mcronin has showed up! I lost track of why your post shows up with tdog's user name.

ladobe, thanks for the feedback.

The FAQ member mural image has nothing to do with popups, there is no script involved, just an image URL.

(The following is for HTML code enthusiasts only)
Apparently GardenWeb's FAQ script is broken, the image attributes for size read: "width= height=" with no dimensions given. The mural shows up fine in FireFox or Opera browsers but not in IE browsers. I'll try and contact GardenWeb about it. Older FAQ images code out OK.

larry-gene,

Mike has asked me to post his pictures for him. So, like a good friend, I do! That's why I always make sure to include the note that I am posting for him.
CalSherry aka tdog

secretarial skills being put to work! :)

Now my reading skills are being put to work!

No word yet from GardenWeb on the "hidden" mural.

larry gene,

I'm so glad you posted the ACTION picture of you on this thread. BTW, we all should give you thanks more often for all you do for this Forum!!!

mike

I wasn't for sure how I could get a pic posted as I'm shy about having photos taken. Then I remembered that the person in charge of the new Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden had taken a picture when we were doing a BF survey in May. She posted it on the website so I "borrowed" it. It's a "working" photo, not very glamorous. I'm in fatigues and no makeup. Dr. John Nelson is our state Lep expert and co-author of Butterflies in Oklahoma. . . and John Fisher keeps the state data for a lot of the wildlife including BFs and Moths. I felt very privileged to be keeping company with them. And, BTW, I turned 60 in January!

{{gwi:478620}}

Sandy

You look beautiful, Sandy, and you're just the right age! :)
Sherry

Thanks MissSherry,

I think everyone on the BF forum that has posted pics is quite good-lookin'. It was fun to see this thread when I was away. I have enjoyed reading it.

Sandy

Thanks Mike, did you ever get that loaned video back you were looking for a couple of years ago? I gave those butterfly steppers of yours a bath a while back; remarkably, they do not grow mildew and moss like most other things around here.

Now we're up to 3 butterfly nets on this thread, a record!

Well here I am. 61 this year. Still working as a school nurse! Joann
{{gwi:478622}}

Hi, I'm Mary from Florida. I have visiting here for about 6 years now. I am a retired kindergarten teacher but still keep trying to visit the schools to do butterfly presentations and convert others to this wonderful hobby. I'm 57, been married to DH for nearly 38 years now.

My pictures are from our recent vacation to Oregon and California. I haven't been able to post pictures for a while, since my son moved to his new home and I lost my network site.

Well, that didn't work! Try, try again!

Love it! Thanks!

Edna,

Thanks so much for restarting our album of participants. I, along with many other members, love being able to see what you look like. My biggest surprise was seeing Larry-Gene with his butterfly net. Speaking of Larry-Gene, is there any way we can put this on the FAQ page to save it from eventually ending up on page 10???????

mike

Nice to meet you all. This has been so much fun.

Edna

Here's a poor scan of a slide with another butterfly net in tow...

Yours truely at 11,000' on the Beartooth Plateau. This is the slide that prompted the title of my companion guide and the public seminars I did about the areas flora and fauna... (with emphasis on the Lepidoptera and their larval/necturing food plants).

"Butterflies in the Clouds"

Title fits well I think. LOL

Larry

{{gwi:478624}}

Larry,

That picture is true artistry! Did you use it as a cover picture?

mike

Posting for MurrayÂ

Here he is!
{{gwi:478626}} and his trusted sidekick, Caleb...{{gwi:478628}}

Here I am with cassia alata taller than me last year just before I turned sixty-five.

{{gwi:478630}}

Nell

Ohmygosh, awesome photos everyone! So nice to "see" you all! And long time no see, at that. What a great idea for a thread.

Here's a photo of my sister and me (I'm on the right) from late summer '07. She is in charge of the plant imaging center at the Department of Botany at UW-Madison, and graciously offered to help check out some monarch butterfly scales (in search of the OE parasite) on the University's confocal laser scanning microscope. Good times for science geeks. ;)

Sandy

{{gwi:478632}}

It's nice to put a face on the other Sandy! And how incredible to be able to use a laser scanning microscope to check out monarch scales. It's good to see you back.

Murray, Nell, and everyone else, definitely a good looking group of people!!

Sandy

Murray, I'm in love with your dog. He's gorgeous!

I know what you mean about Caleb. I absolutely love this dog. I have loved all the dogs I have had over the years but this guy has a special place in my heart because he is so unique in so many ways. As we speak he is nursing on his special pillow. He takes it everywhere and can't stand for me to put it up on the couch while I am vacuuning. It always has to be nearby in the livingroom just in case he needs it. I guess it is his stress reliever. One day one of his girlfriends came into the house and walked right over and peed on it. I guess she was insulted that he thought more of his pillow than her. I thought it was an over reaction, myself but he didn't seem to mind at all.

He is going to be 10 years old this spring and I absolutely dread the day when I will have to say goodbye. He is truly a great dog and only 113 lbs. Other than being obsessed with food, he is the easiest dog to live with I have ever had. I guess all dog-lovers will know what I mean. Murray

I do believe, the bigger the dog, the bigger the baby *lol*

"He is going to be 10 years old this spring and I absolutely dread the day when I will have to say goodbye"
I know, I know. I feel the same about my Quinton. He just had TPLO surgery. I told the Vet, if any thing happens to him you might as well shoot me.

{{gwi:478634}}

Grrrr, how I hate pics, and I think this is my only favorite one, although it's not really all that recent (hehehe):
{{gwi:478635}} Forever 39 (ok, I'll admit 44, with zero braincells, married 12 years, 8yo dd).

AND, enough of these stinkin dog pics!

{{gwi:478637}} My 11yo, Shotzie.

Quinton is so adorable. Reminds me of my daughter's doggie named Scarlet. She is a big lap dog too and just loves my daughter's cats. And I think you are right about the bigger the dog the bigger the baby! Aren't they all wonderful?

And what a BEAUTIFUL cat. Is Shotzie a male or female? My favorite coloring and those longcoats are magnificent. I have at least five kitties but they don't actually live with me because I just started feeding them as kittens and the dog is too territorial to chance an encounter. He is better with other dogs than with kitties sadly. But animals have been my constant companions all of my 68 years. What a gift. I apologize though for going off topic. I just love the pets so much it is hard not to boast about them. Murray (Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to put names and faces to our pets too.)

Nice cat Tracey! Great to 'see' everyone else too!
Here I am with my best gardening buddy, Raven, last fall.

{{gwi:478639}}

... and Raven with her new friend Precious.

{{gwi:478641}}

As per age, well today I joined the half a century club!!

tiffy,

Great pictures of your adorable animals and who would believe that you joined the "half a century club." HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! I'm convinced that there's something about butterfly gardening that makes the women on our forum look/act a LOT YOUNGER THAN THEIR CHRONOLOGICAL AGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MIKE

Woo Hoo!!! Happy BD, Tiffy. You don't look a day over 30!

Thanks for that compliment, Mike!

I saw that "half a century" remark and had to do a double take (Is that the expression?) sounds funny. But seriously I must agree with you MIke. I was going to ask who found the old "Fountain of Youth" around here.

What a fantastic shot of Raven and her new buddy. Caleb would freak out to see that. He has been complaining for weeks now because he claims that the kitties are no longer showing him any respect and are "dissing" him constantly. It seems they know he can't get out and they just sit right in front of the door looking very calm and composed while he is flipping out on the other side of the screen. Once in awhile I have to take him outside on the leash just to build up his confidence when he sees them run away and hide. Murray

You got me blushing folks and I don't do that very often. Thanks!! I'll take a compliment like that any day!!

Murray,
In our home, it's the cats that stay in. There's Coyotes and Bobcats in the area and too many cats have disappeared in the neighbourhood. We have another named Captain Jack Sparrow. He's the mouser since we need one in the basement. Huge boy!

We also have another dog, a Valley Bulldog (Cross between a Boxer and an English Bulldog) named Chewie. The dogs can go outside whenever they want by pushing the screen door and they are trained to stay on the property.

I don't blame you at all for affording the kitties added protection. My daughter was telling me that down in the Santa Cruz area where she lives the kitties come in every night and most of the day because they have some very large racoons who can also be nasty that way and she was awakened by a very large one climbing down the ladder from her roof at 3:00 am the other night. She is afraid that it may have been going for a window where she and her husband keep the cat food. I think they also have coyotes there. Her dog is large like mine so I guess she is okay but she also stays in at night. My guy has a doggie door so he can come and go as he pleases though he definitely prefers to be inside with me. I prefer that too.

I wish he were amenable to having the cats inside too. Maybe he will get used to them after awhile. They are no longer afraid of him so we will see. He is really a baby at heart. Thanks to all for sharing the pictures. Murray

Me and my kids at The Butterfly House in Whitehouse, OH. Taken August 2010. You will have to figure out which one is me. ;)

KC

Haven't posted in quite a while, but this thread brought back lots of memories of people. KC, thanks for bringing this back up, and for posting a photo of you and your kids. I think you are the big guy in the middle?

Lots has happened in the last 4 years. But it's good to reminisce.

sandy

The "Member Mural", photos of 20 present and past members, is still on page one of the Forum Gallery.

I have saved the kcclark image above for future inclusion.

Okay - I'll join in. :-) Here is a picture of my hubby and me taken this summer when we went to Lake Tahoe to visit my sister.

~Laura

Laura,

It's good to put a face to the name!

Sandy

Hey, Laura, great photo of you and hubby! What a cute, yungun you are!

Wow! This has been a great walk thru the past. I miss so many of our members who don't post anymore - Murray, Tdogmom, Mary in Ct., Mary in Florida, Edna, Randy, Rosalee (I see her posts on the Texas Forum), Sue, Mike Cronin, Tiffy, geez I wonder what happened to everyone.

All right, Cathy, where is your photo?

Susan

Thanks all - I'm not as young as you think... I've got a 23 year old daughter and an almost 18 year old son. :-)

~Laura

Well, hi Susanlynne, so nice to be remembered! My hiatus from here started when my dial-up computer started to take forever to download the site. Then as is usual, one day leads to the next and here we are.

Tonight, I was researching our population explosion of Painted Ladies here in Ct and was brought back to this site and this walk down memory lane.

Thanks so much!

Maryann in CT

Maryann,

It's good to see you here! I am seeing an explosion of Painted Ladies here in my backyard in NE Oklahoma. Must be a good year for them.

Sandy

I don't come here often, except when I need help Id'ing a plant or tree. But here I am.

Hi guys! Love this forum. love my leps, and have enjoyed this thread being bumped - wish some of the pictures weren't missing.

Here I am with one of my releases last September - named this one "Clayton" because he was a big male who hung around with me for about 1/2 hour in the field, and at one point even landed on my shirt. (Don't usually name the butterflies, or post pics either!)

{{gwi:478645}}

This is probably my favorite post in this forum. We were able to see what our Butterfly Garden friends looked like. Unfortunately, most of the pictures did not survive the conversion. And the "Member Mural" mentioned by Larry also did not survive the conversion. :(

I'm reviving this post because it seemed like the place to put this info. Had been a while since I talked with MissSherry so I brought up her Facebook page. Was very sad to see it is now a memorial page. She died in January.

I used to swap emails with Sherry a lot. We were always trading info and seeing what Leps each other were raising. I remember her finding another butterfly forum and talking me into posting there too so it would get some traffic. She loved the Leps so much. I tried to meet up with her once but being in northern Mississippi with a tight schedule did not put me close enough. :( I did not keep up with her as much after she moved. I remember she bought an additional property in 2019. Seemed like quite the wildlife sanctuary. I hope she got to enjoy it.

Sherry Gerald Obituary

Oh dear, I was afraid we would eventually get this news after not hearing from her for so long. Sherry was such an integral part of this community for so many years. Her knowledge and enthusiasm for butterflies and moths was infectious and helped myself and countless others. Iris is right, sad to see how less active the forums are now, and now with this news, it's an even bigger blow.

I (Larry) visit this forum only about twice a year (I post mostly to the Insects forum) and was surprised to see this old topic title near the top. I still have some of the old iVillage (and older--"Spike") stuff.

Here is the last member mural from 2008. The roster names at the bottom match the respective locations of the member photos in the mural. Click to enlarge.