Robin and I headed out this afternoon to visit the Tucson Botanical Garden, a little oasis in the middle of the city (John was under the weather, so they’ll go another day). Lots of interesting plants from various parts of the world (mostly things that survive in desert-type conditions). The neatest part was the butterfly enclosure. Very humid and warm, but so awesome to be walking through with butterflies fluttering all around you (and they will often land on visitors). It was kind of like entering a space ship. Enter the first door, then wait to make sure the door is closed before you open the second door, and then you have to walk through big plastic strips and make sure the door is firmly closed once everyone has gone through. And we were asked to watch where we walked, because some of the butterflies periodically sit on the ground, and there are also some tiny tropical frogs in there, also on the ground. We only caught sight of one frog - blue and black and hiding under some foliage so couldn’t get a picture. When you leave there is the same plastic-strips-and-double-door procedure. You have to wait for one of the staff to check you out for stowaways, then they escort you through the first set of doors and check you again and then send you on your way.
The most amazing creatures in there were the Atlas moths. They are huge (more than 12” across) and very beautiful, and have very short life spans once they emerge from their cocoon – only one to two weeks. Apparently as adults they don’t have properly formed mouths, so can’t eat, and live off the residuals stored in their body from the cocoon. There were two in the enclosure, and the staff member said they were both reaching the end of the line. They were a bit ratty looking, and one of them kept resting in the middle of the brick pathway, blending in with the bricks. It would be moved onto, or tucked under, a plant and then a couple minutes later it would be back on the pathway again.
The most amazing creatures in there were the Atlas moths. They are huge (more than 12” across) and very beautiful, and have very short life spans once they emerge from their cocoon – only one to two weeks. Apparently as adults they don’t have properly formed mouths, so can’t eat, and live off the residuals stored in their body from the cocoon. There were two in the enclosure, and the staff member said they were both reaching the end of the line. They were a bit ratty looking, and one of them kept resting in the middle of the brick pathway, blending in with the bricks. It would be moved onto, or tucked under, a plant and then a couple minutes later it would be back on the pathway again.
An enjoyable and peaceful couple of hours. Back to base for another happy two-and-a-half hour with J&D and Dave & Debbie. Dinner had been put in the slow cooker in the morning, and I had made a loaf of beer bread as well (before temperatures got too warm), so nothing to do but sit down and enjoy. Bit of reading, then off to bed. Just as we were crawling into bed, the coyotes started carrying on, and this time I was able to capture their song.
Until next time dear followers, wouldn’t it be nice if we were equipped with a couple of dials that we could adjust to make our height better suit our weight, rather than all the work needed to make our weight better suit our height.