Monday, June 04, 2007

More frogs, sleeping angel, blood oranges and butterflies

I wanted to show the cute little statue (broken) in the garden. I don't know why, but it makes me happy to look at it.
The Toad Abode is right behind it.


sleeping angel and dutch pearl
The annual Krohn's Conservatory Butterfly Show is going on now, and I surprised the girls by driving there without telling them where we were going. They approved.
This is the first one we saw:
Green bfly
Isn't that just fantastic? A green butterfly.
Most of them were from Africa, so I have no clue as to what they were.
one with eyespots
But some of them were local...
ripped blue morpho
...and some were from South America.
(Very ripped blue morpho)
orchid 1
I could live in the Orchid Room.
I want one. A nice, simple one. Like a Phalaenopsis.

naked statues

Security was tight at the Conservatory.
(All kidding aside, I like African statues. They have a simple grace, unblinking when it comes to anatomy. But the anatomy of the male figures needs an UPgrade, if you know what I mean.)


orange bflies

bfly yarn design
I want one of these, too.

chrysalis
The butterfly nursery, where the magic happens.
bfly nursery

Blood oranges
Ever had a blood orange? They are delicious, and raw-looking. I bought two of them recently but I really just wanted the juice.

One eighth of a cup of juice!
Two oranges' worth. One eighth of a cup.
Hmmm. I seem to remember blood oranges being a little more...I don't know...juicy.
Oh, well. We mixed it into some Hawaiian Punch and gave it to the girls.

Tree frog story:
The past few nights, the love-juices have really been flowing with the tree frogs.
One has been so loud outside Lorelei's window, we had to put a fan in her room to drown out the racket. It sounded like it was IN her room!
Tonight, I found out why:

spot the tree frog
See the little dark spot on the right shutter?
That's him/her.
Wow. We need to paint the gutters.
Cope's gray treefrog on the house
If I could get close enough, I swear I would kiss one. I am in love.
They are so adorable. I love that we are sharing our house with them.
Look at the sweet little suction cups on the toes. Ack! I love it!
I have to research when and where they lay their eggs. You know, I almost CUT THAT BUSH DOWN this year? Thank goodness I didn't!
I said to Geoff earlier, "You know, some people who are ignorant, would grab that frog and fling it across the yard if it was on their house, right outside their kids' window."
The tree frogs chose the right house.

Later, at Lake Isabella (on the river side) we heard cricket frogs...they shut up before we could see any:

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"the sweet little suction cups on the toes" are my favorite.

That frog has some voice -- LOUD.

Tyler Arboretum has a cool butterfly house/exhibit/large outdoor structure with many butterflies. I took the kids a few years ago; they even had two LARGE (30 foot) caterpillar sculptures out on the lawn to climb around. I really like the exhibits that pretend to interest the kids when really it's the adults (ahem) who are having the great time.

Heather
Wayne, PA

LauraHinNJ said...

Oh Susan! Of course YOU would suggest an upgrade to the African statues!

I'd love to visit a butterfly conservatory like that, but don't know of any nearby.

I don't know cricket frogs - how do you tell their sound from crickets?

LostRoses said...

I never heard of cricket frogs - thanks for the soundtrack! We just don't have any frogs around here (well, not counting those adorable tiny green ones up in the mountains) and no wonder you are in love with your suction-cup-toed friend!

I think I saw the "upgrade" on the African statues on the Discovery Channel - no kidding, a long strand of vine or rope did the trick. Most unusual.

Oh, that green butterfly! Very cool photos.

Beth said...

I laughed, I laughed some more and I blushed. Awesome post - full of beauty and interesting anatomy.

You remind me to be more aware of my surroundings, and to think twice before flinging toads or brushing away butterflies...thanks...

(before your wrath descends upon me, I have NEVER flung a frog or a toad...I used to push the cat around, but therapy helped overcome that issue...)

Great post!

Mary said...

I like that green butterfly. They're great, Susan! You should go back there and show us more.

Actually, you can have those African statues...

Your love of having the little suction cup feet stuck to your house made me laugh out loud. It reminded me of JZ's ladybug story.

NatureWoman said...

I *love* the cool little suction cups on the toes of the tree frog! I'm so happy this frog picked the right house. I can't believe people would fling a frog, it breaks my heart, ignorant people.
And I *love* the butterflies!
Mmmm, blood oranges and Hawaiian Punch - sounds yummy!

Anonymous said...

Such a cool place and love seeing all of the colorful butterflies! I agree with Naturewoman with Hawaiian Punch!