Ella has been fascinated by butterflies for a couple of years now. She memorized their life cycle from a National Geographic for Kids magazine she got last spring, and has been begging to have some butterflies of her own. When the catepillars arrived in the mail (part of a kit she got for her birthday) you would've thought it was Christmas morning. I must admit, the process has been fascinating for all of us. (Except for possibly Conrad, who will let a full-size labrador lick his face but about had a heart attack when a butterfly flew at him in the gardens at the zoo last month!?) The first butterflies emerged on Friday afternoon while she was at the fair, and I found myself excitedly checking on them every few minutes trying to find just the right flowers from the garden for their first feast. Ella was able to see the last couple arrive. Immediately the talk turned to when we'd release them. Each day, she promises that she'll release them the next...
Today she asked how long she'd had the butterflies. I told her that it had been nearly 3 days, and she said "Well they need to be released. They need to find new homes and make new butterfly friends." I asked her if she felt excited or sad about letting them go, and she gave me an exasperated "Mooom, its not a big deal." Yet when she pulled their cage into driveway and started to unzip the lid she stopped and said "Oh well, I can just be their friend!" She hauled them back on to the porch, but an hour later was back out there, letting the first one free. The moment he flew away, she zipped it back tight. One was enough she said. Before the night was over, she had gathered the gumption to let 3 go, but 2 still remain. Maybe tomorrow...
Then she and Dani raided the craft supplies to make their own map, then used it to help them find the mysterious "swing set" behind the garage that they play on several times a week.
