Every morning he greeted them with a cheerful hello and checking on their progress. When the caterpillars curled into their cocoons, Timmy cheered them on through their transformation. When the cocoons broke open and timid butterflies tore out of the thing walls, Timmy was there to sing a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."
Charlie Cat had developed a sinister interest in the flying bugs and we were worried that he was going to become aggressive about opening their netted home. Butterflies don't have a long life span, and I wanted them to experience nature during their short lives. The sun was shining and the temperature was warm, so Scott and I decided that yesterday was time to set them free.
I was worried about how Timmy would react to setting his new winged friends free. Instead of being sad or mournful, he was giddy and excited. He came tearing down the hallway when I told him it was time to set the butterflies free. Without missing a beat he took the cage from my hands, carefully walked down the steps and went outside.
We had expected a butterfly exodus when the cage was opened. Unfortunately, the release was rather anticlimactic. (I have a four minute video of us just staring at an open cage, waiting for a butterfly to fly away.) Eventually, Timmy reached his hand into the cage and a butterfly hopped onto his hand.
One by one, Timmy escorted his butterflies into nature. Each butterfly sat on his hand or his arm for a few moments before flitting away into the trees. He was delighted, thinking that each bug wanted to say goodbye to him. I have to admit, it was pretty neat to witness.Every time we see a butterfly in our yard, I will always wonder if they are a relative to our initial little family. I'd like to think that they are!
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