Out of the Chrysalis!

This post is really about a caterpillar, but it's an appropriate time and analogy for my getting back to recording our family's memories.  Much of what happens while a larva pupates is still a mystery, as is where the time has gone since my last post over at Memories on Maplechase.  At any rate, "Forward, March!"

Back in September (2015), I saw a post from an acquaintance offering Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars.  "How fun and educational it would be for the kids to see metamorphosis first-hand!" I thought.  And so one morning we became the proud keepers of two beautiful caterpillars.  We did a little research and made a cozy home for Winter and Hope.

That's just Winter.  We took Hope to school, but she "stopped eating" over the long Labor Day weekend.

Naturally, we had planned to spend the Labor Day weekend four hours away from home with friends.  I say "naturally" because that's the way things seem to go:  almost never at a convenient time.  See, caterpillars eat a lot.  And often.  They really can't be left in a gallon-sized glass jar for four days.  So, we either find a 'pillar-sitter, or we take her with us.  And since we didn't have time to properly screen a sitter, we had no choice but to take her with us.  It was ok since we still had six square inches of empty space in our van.

We arrived safely at our destination and situated Winter in the gazebo overlooking the lake.  It was a beautiful view for a caterpillar.  On our second day, The Mamas of the group went into the city for an over-night, and while we were away, The Papa got to witness Winter shedding her little legs and curling up into her chrysalis!  He said it happened very quickly.  We were very proud of her.

We brought her home, and a couple of weeks later while on the screened porch, I turned to notice something moving inside the jar.  It was.....startling, to say the least, to find such a beauty!

Thank heavens we had friends here to help us figure out what to do.  Seems simple, huh, just to let her out.  Well, it was very exciting, and sometimes emotions take over.

What could be better than this?

I was so happy that she crawled right onto The Girl's arm.  We couldn't have planned it any better than that.  She put her arm near a potted plant where the butterfly rested, and after a few minutes, Winter flew onto the roof of the neighbor's house.  Watching Winter was such a magical time, and she will hold a place in our hearts forever.

And, by the way, Winter was a male.  ;)