Butterflies!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.  They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.  Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."  Psalm 19:1-4

I love butterflies; I always have.  There's just something so sweet and innocent about them, as they flutter about their day visiting bright flowers and helping pollinate plants.  They come in all shapes and colors, some with muted tones of browns and creams, others with bright jewel tones of oranges, reds, blues, yellows...how can anyone see a butterfly and not smile?

So, when I got an e-mail from the Toledo Zoo about a temporary exhibit of butterflies in the middle of winter, I resolved to head up and check it out!

The exhibit was set up in a portable tent in the middle of one of the exhibit buildings.  It was full of leafy plants and little brightly-painted pots with nectar inside to attract the butterflies, and was nice and warm and breezy.  We were told upon entering to watch for butterflies landing on the floor, and to have fun!

Butterflies were fluttering all about!  It was so neat.  Everywhere we looked, butterflies met us.  My hubby had one land on his hat, then come over and land on my hand, which was so cool...he stayed there long enough for my hubby and a stranger to take pictures.  I eventually  had to have an zoo worker gently move him off of my hand (we were told not to touch the butterflies, as the oils in our hands can hurt them).

Photo courtesy of the hubs!

The exhibit was so great.  It was so nice to see something summery in the dead of winter, and it gave me warm fuzzies that I hope will last until I get my own flower garden growing in the warmer temps.  A great way to spend the afternoon!

Think spring!  Here's lookin' at you, kid!