100th gardener comes to gardens/ butterfly release

REALITY CHECK-------------------------

I forgot to check my bills the last two weeks - having too much fun in the gardens!! So I spent my first two hours doing all that entails, downloaded the rest of my photos from yesterday, uploaded to the blog and finally got this post going. Just ready to get it posted as Kim arrives. Again , off to the gardens!!


We recently had an Eastern Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes butterfly hatch.



This is what the chrysalis looks like. The top one is the regular color during the pupation phase. The bottom one is what it looks like as it is getting ready to hatch The change in color to black is actually the wings being formed and seen through the chrysalis as it becomes more transparent.




We have been hatching these for many years now, and I have found them to be a bit skittish and unpredictable critters. I waited for my grandkids (note the red hair, straight and curly!!, too cute!!!) to get here to release this one. I took it outside, ever so gently cradling it within my palms. As there was only one butterfly and two grandkids, I had them put their hands together so that I could place the butterfly between them.



As I proceeded to bring my hands over to place on their hands, the butterfly snuck right out of the bottom of my hands, where I had inadvertently left a slight opening! It flew away up to the trees as fast as possible! It was gone in the wink of an eye! Oh, no, where did it go?? All gone!!



That's the way it went!! Way up in the trees!!





On Sunday, July 6th, our 100th gardener came to the gardens.



I was happy to present him and his wife with a plant for their garden, a beautiful Pulmonaria.



This was also the day we had cleared out the new seed bed. So in honor of the two occasions, we had a butterfly release. I brought the butterfly container outside.


This one was also an Eastern Black Swallowtail.



I gently put my hand in the bag,


lifted out the butterfly in the palm of my hand, being ever so careful to hold is so very gently, so as to not damage the wings,



Got ready to release it,


lifted my top hand off,


and let it go!


I said, let it go..............



And as I have already stated, these Blacks are unpredictable. The one before this one couldn't get away fast enough, so the grandkids barely saw it. And this one, probably realizing it was the center of attention of a group of onlookers, ogling its beauty, sat on my hand,

and sat ........ basking in the glory of our awe at witnessing such an amazing event!!

And sat, giving us all an extraordinary moment, and such an eyeful of nature's beauty.

And then it took off!!