Butterflies are kind of my
thing. I'm
slightly obsessed with them.
My love for butterflies started when I was a child, and my grandmother (my mom's mom) loved butterflies. She had these big decorative Monarchs hanging in front of her little apartment, and something about them just captivated me. And, seeing an actual butterfly? Well, that was/is always a special treat.
Since my grandmother has passed I firmly believe when I see a butterfly it is her, gently reminding me that she is still with me. I especially love her little reminders while I'm running, it's a bit of encouragement that helps me to push on.
Lucky for Marcus and me, Marcus' grandparents know of my love affair with butterflies. While we were visiting we took a trip to the
Powell Gardens, outside of Kansas City, to see some winged beauties.
On our visit the skies were cloudy, the temps were on the cooler side, and the humidity was low. We could not have asked for better mid-July weather in Kansas.
Upon arriving we met a HUGE caterpillar.
It will transform into some GIANT moth.
Then it was time to see the grand display. The butterflies!
 |
| Monarchs hold a special place in my heart. On our wedding day we released 100 of them after the wedding ceremony. It was pretty spectacular. |
Aside from the large crowd in the butterfly houses, and the fact that Marcus held about .5 seconds of interest in the butterflies,
I could have spent a large part of my day with the fragile, beautiful creatures.
The tropical butterflies are so amazing, and so BIG!
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| The butterfly in the bottom picture easily had a wing span of 8 inches. |
One of the butterflies really took to Grandma Katie, and decided to perch right in her hair.
After it had become obvious Marcus needed out of the butterfly houses (insert my sad face) we took to the gardens portion, which, at Powell Gardens is acre upon acre of land.
In one part of the gardens there was a fountain area. I thought surely Marcus would have a hay day and we would have a soaked toddler for the rest of the morning. Marcus was sprayed ONE time and called it good. Who is this kid?!
A few photo ops were necessary, and I was clearly more involved in the process than the little man.
Luckily, those little peep hole pictures interested Marcus - so much so he didn't want to leave (I can't say I blame him).
The gardens are a place I could have spent an entire day, rather than just the few hours we were allotted with a 2-year old. There were so many parts of the gardens we didn't get to, and that I would love to see. Maybe next time we wait to take Marcus when he's a little older. Orrrrrr I find a day-sitter and take a day to myself to get lost on the garden grounds…
the butterflies are so pretty! and that huge catepillar is super cool, but the fact that you stated it will turn into a giant moth literally made my skin crawl. I.HATE.moths. just the idea of one flying near me could send me into an anxiety attack!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what amazing pictures! I would love to get lost here as well, especially if I had a sitter...that sounds like the perfect day! : )
ReplyDeleteI have never been there, but my parents had a membership many years ago. They would take my niece and nephew there a lot. I looked into having my wedding there, but went a different route. It looks gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful post, Desiree. From the words, to the photography - it's all beautiful. And I understand what you mean by feeling your grandmother when you see a butterfly. My PaPa loved giraffes so when I see one, I know it's him. Love this, friend. XO
ReplyDeleteso cool that you got to go! great photos, of course!
ReplyDeleteYou did so many cool things on your trip. I would love to check out a butterfly garden sometime.
ReplyDeleteI love the expression on his face looking at that huge caterpillar.
That is so special with you and the butterflies, both at your wedding and with your grandmother. That one that took a liking to Grandma is super pretty, but that caterpillar is totally scary. He looks like he could eat people. Butterfly gardens, now that is a flying/bug thing that I can handle!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the coolest caterpillars I have ever seen! And of course your photos are amazing as usual! I am always so jealous of the color and sharpness of them!
ReplyDelete