Only in Florida

OK maybe not in Florida, but who else would have this kinda story?

On my lunch break, I had to run to the post office.  I grabbed my lunch box, took it to the car, and drove off.  Once I got to the post office, I open the front pouch on my lunch box to grab my drivers license, and saw a pair of eyes staring back at me!  It took my brain a few seconds to register what the eyes where attached to and by then the little lizard had registered what was happening, and jumped.  Of course it jumped at my head; where else would it go.  Now, I don't think of myself as an over dramatic person, but I did scream.  This caused the lizard to jump again.  Now the lizard is on my seat and I am looking at it, its looking at me.  I ask it "What are we going to do?" It cocked it's head.  I have no idea how long this little lizard has been here.  I don't know if I carried it into work.  Was it in the car this whole time?  It sure can't stay here though; it is WAY to hot.  I look around for something to hold the little lizard.  I want to catch it and not hurt it.  What do I find but a McDonald's coffee cup...huh, maybe that will work.  The little lizard sees me coming, and what does it do?  It jumps on my shirt!!  OK, fine, be that way.  I got out of the car with a lizard on my shirt (what a sight that must have been in the post office parking lot), carried the little lizard to the grass, and set it free.  I was very happy I saved this poor little fella and no damage to the lizard, or myself.  Well, I did lose my voice again :)

A few days ago the offspring were at a youth group, so my dear husband and I took off to the store for a few minute.  We discovered a Dutchman's pipevine on the clearance rack.  Once I picked it up my husband found a lizard on it.  We gave the lizard a few minutes to run away before we purchased the plant.  (Maybe it never left the plant, like we thought, or it had friends and that is how a lizard got into the car.)

Dutchman's pipevine looking a little sad

I planted the pipevine yesterday. Gave it lots of good soil and some water to help perk it up.  It was really root bound.  I sat back and looked it over.  Some of the leaves are spotted and probably need to be trimmed, but I lost my garden clippers and don't want to mess this plant up.  As I look more closely at some of the leaves I see...

It's just about and inch long

Yep, a Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar.  It had to have been on the plant when we picked it up.  What an exciting bonus purchase.

Munching along the plant

We also picked up a blackberry (rubus natchez) and raspberry (rubus caroline) bush on sale.

Blackberry

Raspberry

With luck, these will grow and create berries.  They did not come with extra friends.