Butterflies

Hattie is finally getting over her walking pneumonia. The sun has now been shining brightly for 2 days, and I couldn't take one more morning of tv/markers and paper/fighting/staring at my computer. I got up this morning and decided to take the little stinkers on an outing.

Our choices were pretty limited. It's still really cold, and Hattie's not quite all the way better, so outside things were off limits. Everything else that is fun and not a germ pool would be in Boston, but there are a few small places in our neck of the woods where you can go to enjoy yourself indoors without touching too many germy things or spending tons of money. One of them is the Butterfly Place. (but it's still a 35 minute drive...)

(3 blue morpho butterflies sitting on a bench together. I thought they looked so cool. They have gorgeous blue irridescent wings on the inside, but they fly really fast and it is hard to get a good picture of them until they land - which is when they immediately close their wings!)

We have been there once before, but Hattie was only a baby. They just opened on Valentine's Day for the season so their flowers and plants are just starting out and it wasn't as lush and gorgeous as it is later in the year. Still, the butterfly room is heated to 85 degrees (YES!) and has fresh dirt, fresh plants, and beautiful butterflies and birds.

Both girls were so SCARED that a butterfly would land on them. I tried to tell them that butterflies don't bite, that they only give you a little kiss. Hattie did end up with a butterfly kiss, but Grace says she's grateful that none kissed her.

(this picture will NOT rotate the right way... but, it is one of my favorites from today.)

We spent a glorious warm hour in the room watching the butterflies go about their business and then the girls went to the gift shop to spend the little handful of dollars they got for Valentine's day from their grandmas.

There were still a few fights and plenty of screaming in the car, but at least it was a change of venue. Thank you butterflies!(an Asian leaf walker bug. It looks almost identical to the leaves it stays on - great camo job!)

(the chrysallis room - you can see all the butterflies in various stages of coming out - some are already out. they keep them in the room until they determine they are healthy enough to be let out with the other butterflies because many come from foreign countries and can transmit disease and also carry parasites and larvae of unwanted foreign bugs. we learned a lot.)