We said hello and goodbye to 6 beautiful baby butterflies this week. As the last one fluttered away from our front porch yesterday afternoon Harper exclaimed, “But now all our pets are gone!”

They weren’t really our pets, of course, but it was so much fun to watch the stages of the transformation from hungry, hungry caterpillar to butterfly. This poor fellow formed his chrysalis on our fern, and emerged during a day of heavy rain. It took a little bit longer for his wings to dry out.

This one liked Mark’s tie on Sunday.

They’re just so pretty! I love how they decorate the blue skies, even if it does mean that they’re flying away from us and headed on their journey south.

It seems fitting that we discovered our first sign of Fall today, merely 2 short days after bidding adieu to Summer (with the start of school.)

A penny to give you a size comparison.

This little guy was hungry…

…still eating….

Speaking of eating, I was momentarily distracted by the fact that one ladybug was facing off against 100 (or so) aphids. Go, ladybug, go.

When Cole came home from school we discovered that what we’d thought was little was really huge in comparison to this teeny tiny baby we found underneath a leaf. We can’t wait for monarchs!

The butterfly exhibit is back at The Nature Center!

My advice, as always, is to go early. However, this time when we arrived the butterflies weren’t too cooperative at first. We had a lot of this.

Harper was also very annoyed that the butterflies kept landing on her clothes, instead of on her finger (that’s what you get when you wear a cacophony of color) so eventually we just stopped pointing out the butterflies on her hat and shirt.

And eventually they decided that they might like to sit on our fingers, too.

Then Cole found this really cool moth, and we all took turns holding it. It probably would have gone home with us, too, as it just sort of stayed wherever it was placed.

Having gone to this exhibit for several years now I’ve noticed that the admission rates always seem to creep up another dollar right around the time the exhibit opens. So my advice to you: if you live in the Asheville area, if you’re a tourist and think you’re going to visit the Nature Center even twice a year, or if you’re a grandparent in the area with family who comes to visit, buy a membership. My mom faithfully renews our membership every year and this is such a great gift for us to use. Plus, it includes free admission to the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina (as well as at other zoos across the country) and Friends of the Nature Center receive other discounts throughout the year as well.