It was another busy weekend (socializing on Saturday, office construction on Sunday) so not a whole lot crafty happened. But there has been some excitement in the garden!

We’ve had a BRAND NEW visitor! This is a Eastern Giant Swallowtail! While we’ve had Black Eastern Swallowtails and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, we’ve never had a Giant!

I can confirm it was a big one, if a little raggedy! It’s host plants are mostly citrus trees, which explain why it’s not super common here. Though apparently it will also settle for Prickly Ash, which is apparently in the citrus family.

This is not only the first time I’ve seen one in the garden, but the first time I’ve seen one EVER. I hope it’s not the last.

The Monarchs have been quite plentiful this year.

Though interestingly, I haven’t seen a tonne of caterpillars. Certainly not as many as previous years.

I did get to capture this one laying an egg though!

Other recent butterfly visitors include…

Red Admiral

Red Spotted Purple.

Pearl Crescents

Peck’s Skippers

Pale Beauty Moth

And a pair of very frisky White Cabbages.