little buck

after all the rain and chill we’ve had of late, today was a glorious fall day.

i had planned to share the dinner i made last night with you {it was so delicious}…but you’ll have to wait on that.  instead, i must share some images from our afternoon.  about a week and a half ago, my son found a caterpillar which he put into our butterfly habitat; he supplied said caterpillar with a variety of leaves.  a few days later, a chrysalis hung from the lid of our habitat.  and about a week after that, this is what we saw…

a common buckeye.  we had some pretty happy naturalists-in-training around here!  since the weather was very chilly and very rainy, we decided to keep our butterfly a few extra days.  then this morning, we had a rather serious conversation.  we considered the fact that our little buckeye seemed to not be feeding much on the nectar we provided.  we also considered the fact that the weather was turning a bit milder…and so we decided to free our little buckeye back into the wild.  but not before there was a chance for all hands to hold and all voices to ooh and ahh.

it was quite sweet how tolerant this little buckeye was of all the handling.  it flitted off a few times, only to be chased down…to be held just a little longer, to be wished a few more sweet wishes.

and then we said goodbye.  sweet journeys, little buck.

i feel so privileged to walk this life with my two children.  they bring a sweetness to my life that i might miss otherwise.  how many caterpillars have i passed by in my lifetime?  how many butterflies have flitted by me without my notice?  oh the sweetness and the innocence, the immediacy and the joy.  these children…they are so very good.

sending a little love your way, m