The Butterfly Pavilion

Ella told me this morning that she was ready to go out again.

We went to the Botanic Garden to see the Butterfly Pavilion,

which we had not seen this year.

We entered the Botanic Garden when it opened at 9 am

due to the summer heat later in the day.

We loved the fountain!

It is such a peaceful place so early in the morning!

We walked on the path past the model train exhibit,

but there were no train operators this time in the morning.

We arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion.

It is an enclosed area for the display and life span of butterflies.

There is a sign with the labels for the types of butterflies

that may be in the exhibit area.

We enjoyed walking around the exhibit several times

to see the butterflies.

The butterflies seemed to enjoy the enclosure!

There were many places to observe them as they

flew around and sought out food.

The enclosure is only open for a short time during the summer,

but it is in the main area at the end of the main pond.

I sat on the walkway several times to photograph

Ella with butterflies that were lower in the plants.

One butterfly on a plant near the edge came over to the

bottom of my shoe while I sat down!

It was a butterfly type that was more still

than other butterflies. It did not leave my shoe quickly,

so I photographed Ella watching it!

She enjoyed it until it was time to get up and go somewhere

else! I was not allowed to touch it, but I gently tapped my heel

on the edge of the planter.

It moved to a plant. As a "thank you", I was able to photograph

the inside of its wings and photograph Ella with it on a plant.

There were butterflies I wanted to photograph,

but they moved so quickly!

There were a few types that stayed in a location

long enough to photograph it.

Ella loved being photographed with the butterflies!

She watched them fly around

and she watched them eat in the trays or on other plants.

We found a butterfly on the underside of a leaf!

Another butterfly was above it!

That was an interesting way for the butterflies to share the plant!

We continued to walk around the exhibit

and enjoy the butterflies.

What a beautiful diversity!

We finally had been thorough enough in our visit

to the Butterfly Pavilion to leave.

The greenhouse can be seen from the path 
outside of the Butterfly Pavilion.
It is a familiar symbol to our Botanic Garden.

I don't know why the pond is this green except perhaps

for algae or the growth of another water plant.
I assume that it is a benefit to have the pond this green

this time of year or they would have cleaned it up.

We watched the Rio Line pass as we walked on the trail

around the pond. I thought about riding it today, but decided not to.

From the side near the greenhouse,

we used to be able to see the Butterfly Pavilion across the pond.

The trees have now grown substantially and

the top of the pavilion is barely visible.
We will be able to see it again in the winter

when the trees have lost their leaves.

For today, it was enjoyable to visit the butterflies.