well..Tiger escaped her tent the night of the 30th. Since many of the doors and windows were open, after an exhausting search of the house, we concluded that she got away and into the great outdoors. the kids were a bit disappointed and hubby and i were just a bit worried that she had died trapped in an obscure corner in the house somewhere.
yesterday, much to my dismay, thinking that Tiger was forgotten, my daughter spotted her between the screen and storm window in our dining room. i went to investigate and to my disappointment (but not surprise) she was unmoving and I declared her "dead". the kids were very disappointed and maybe even a little bit sad.
today, my daughter, obviously not over the ordeal, went to investigate her resting place (she was trapped waaaaaaay up in there,, so we left her). she was moving. i didn't hold out much hope at this point but i decided to attempt to rescue the now animated Tiger.
this window is enormous and no longer holds itself open. the storm also must be braced and is ver heavy. i couldn't get between the screen and the storm in any way that wouldn't damage the butterfly's wings, so i finally opted to push the screen out of the hole into the yard. this was her only hope of not getting squished during the rescue. this proved to be more difficult that in sounds but eventually, I got it out. Tiger was clinging to this screen for dear life and was reluctant to let go or even attempt to fly. i surmised her wings must have been damaged from the ordeal and this was a fruitless rescue. i went outside and pried her loosed from the screen with a butterknife (it was handy from the screen extraction). as i lifted her from the screen she took off in flight.
talk about relief. she might not be in the best of health, but i was able to believe (and tell the kids with confidence) that she can now travel, find food and have a chance in the beautiful open that she was intended for.
on the way back into the house they spotted a wooly bear catterpillar and now want to raise it to "mothhood". i'm a bit leary of the whole ordeal and i think i talked them out of it. LOL
9/5/08
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1 remarks: on "the great butterfly rescue"
Wonderful story! We have 'hatched' SO many butterflies in our home - mostly Monarch - and I enjoy it every time. The last time, I could tell when the caterpillar was getting ready to turn into his chrysalis, and I was determined to see it happen. Thinking it would be just a few minutes, I sat and trained my gaze on that caterpillar. Over an hour later it finally happened, and yes - I got to see it. But my husband got a kick out of how I could sit there that long and just watch.
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