Whoa!

Hi Everyone, 
I've been busy for the past few weeks working on our backyard, and take a look at what we've done!
Is this not a do-it-yourselfer's dream???

Har har, de har har,  y'all got me.  No, this is not really my back yard.  Wouldn't that be somethin...

Rick and I were up in Gainesville this past Saturday and we stopped off at the Butterfly Rainforest at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. Located on campus, this $8 million dollar exhibit is well worth your time if have a spare hour or two.  Several times a day they release another batch... call ahead for times.

Here's a fruitful feast:

A splendid buffet for the South American butterflies who don't feed off the nectar from the nearby plants. The staff has placed similar dishes for them around the exhibit.

A few winged beauties for your viewing pleasure:

Look closely.  We were pretty stunned to see this little guy clinging to the rock inside the waterfall.  After about 5 minutes of the water pelting down on his fragile (?) little body, he flew away.

I found this little guy inside the museum at another exhibit. The butterflies were live, but this little guy was "stuffed".    ;)

I'm off to work on my back yard.  Which, sadly, does not at all resemble the butterfly rainforest shown here. . But alas, there is hope!

Comments

[FC]

Nice!
I went through it once and it was pretty amazing. There's a butterfly garden/nursery between Gville and Melrose that sounds interesting, but I haven't dropped in yet.

[pam]

Just beautiful!! I have to admit it, you got me! I thought you must have the greenest thumb in existence... LOL!

[Janet]

ahhh thank you for the springy pictures...I can't wait for it to arrive!

[Linda]

such pretty little things! We went to the butterfly house at Callaway Gardens in Georgia...that was SO awesome. I can't wait to go to another one.....

[vicki]

Well, it's something to aspire to. I have a couple of pieces of taxidermy you can place strategically once you're done. :-)

Beautiful photos. The milkweed in our yard is full of monarchs right now.

[kenju]

Love the look into FL wildlife! I wish my yard looked like that.

[CircusKelli]

Pwitty!! Great pictures! I'll bet that was a neat experience.

[Deana]

My mouth dropped open when I saw your new back yard garden...you got me good! I love the pictures of the butterflies.

[InterstellarLass]

Oh man! That's the kind of back yard I've always wanted. My half of an oak tree and patches of grass and dirt aren't going to measure up. And the butterflies are so pretty.