we got a butterfly!! we had 5 chrysalides (there it is again, that latin plural, go jesuits!!), one turned an awful shade of brown, sort of like coffee inside a teeny tiny plastic bag, one was squished into oblivion by the overly enthusiastic carter, and 3 stayed green for a really long time. two days ago one of the green ones appeared to be slightly more transparent, though i restrained myself and did not get too excited. but yesterday it was all too clear that it was going to become a butterfly, and this morning it was completely clear with a very identifiable butterfly all rolled up inside it. so, we went absolutely nowhere today, all in an attempt to see this happen. and it happened. we missed the actual opening, but saw the butterfly all folded up right outside the now empty chrysalis--apparently their bodies are full of fluid that they pump into their wings to straighten them out. then their bodies become slim and butterfly-ish as their wings become strong. and then they rest forever. after an hour or so, it appeared that it was having a hard time on the plastic container, and so i moved it to a tree. its feet were surprisingly sharp. it crawled up the tree trunk, and eventually, after 4 hours, made it to a branch, where i think it is going to spend the night.

everyone was duly amazed. ava was finally more interested in the butterfly part of the process than the caterpillar part, and carter was SO EXCITED. he knew exactly where that butterfly was on the tree and kept going over to it and pointing and grunting. as for myself, i was astonished. i mean, one can go through life just accepting the fact that caterpillars become butterflies and moths and never really think about it other than the off-hand "yeah, that's cool" thought, but when you watch this actually happen, it definitely makes you stand in wonder at the process. it is such a weird and amazing thing. that a caterpillar--a worm practically--can turn into a butterfly?? how? i know, DNA, but then WHY?? why in the world is that its life process?? it makes no sense, really, other than that the universe has a profound sense of aesthetics.

and we have all learned a lot. we know the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon--a cocoon is spun, a chrysalis is essentially skin--the caterpillar sheds its last batch of skin, like a snake, and what is underneath becomes the chrysalis. we know that a male monarch has 2 dark black spots on its lower wings (we got a 'daddy' butterfly), and we also know about the migration patterns, or lack thereof, of the monarchs. turns out that only the last batch of caterpillars will turn into migrating monarchs. all of the other ones only live 2-4 months and stay in their hometown. the migrators live 8-9 months and fly thousands of miles. and nobody knows why. obviously there is some trigger, but no one has figured it out. could be temperature, length of day, lack of a food source, or some other external cue, but, as the woman in the butterfly house at the VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) said "it's a total mystery." because even if there is an external cue, it still does not explain the difference in lifespan. why shouldn't the early ones also get to live as long as the migrators, provided there is adequate food? it is all very interesting.

as for other outdoor excitement, rose finally caught a squirrel. she has been stalking the things for about 13 years now, and they always get away. i have long suspected that this is part of the game for her, but turns out that if the squirrel is young enough (ie a baby), rose will catch it and toss it in the air with a flourish, much like we toss carter up in the air at swim class --"wheeeee!!!!"

the baby squirrel was not of the same mind as rose and was clearly upset, making that "i am a small animal in distress" sound that i have heard from many little creatures that normally don't talk (rabbits, chipmunks etc) but do when caught in the jaws of a much larger animal. anyway, i said "ROSE! NO!" and she dropped it and ran off, leaving ava, carter and i staring at a very upset, very small red squirrell lying on its back with its arms up over its head absolutely still, save for the involuntary trembling. i tried to look at it, but it went up a tree, and while slow, it was agile enough for me to conclude that it was ok. barring PTSD, of course.

i hate to reprimand a dog or cat for doing what it naturally does, but i am glad that i stopped her. not too keen on starting the "wild kingdom" lessons with ava just yet. and the darn thing was really cute.