Big Bugs!

Emma and I decided to go see the monarch butterfly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden. It was probably not the best morning to go, however, since it rained (a lot) last night and flooded several unpaved paths (making it difficult to navigate in a cheap umbrella stroller). It was still a lot of fun, and I had a difficult time trying to get Emma to leave.

The butterflies were not too happy about being in sub-65 degree weather, apparently, and 65-degrees is about when they start to move around. They were pretty much stuck to the netting of the pavilion. I think we'll go back another day when it's warmer, so we can see them a little more active. Emma was quite caught up on the development of butterflies.  She explained to the volunteers that the butterfly starts out in a caterpillar, then lives in a cocoon until it "hatches" and becomes a butterfly.  She was very excited to see a real caterpillar and a pupa before seeing "a hundred monarchs" in the pavilion.  She also saw there was a small pond in the pavilion with lily pads and kept asking out aloud where the frogs were. 

Despite the overcast and rather chilly weather, Emma and I had a lot of fun strolling through the DBG, especially looking for all the BIG BUGS!. There were 11 giant sculptures of various bugs, all made out of wood, scattered throughout the DBG. With a map in (Emma's) hand, we walked around until we saw all 11 of them. They were fantastic to look at, but the ants, in particular, reminded me of a sci-fi movie I watched in my childhood called "Empire of the Ants." Don't they? 

Emma also commented quite frequently on the plants: "Mom, look, the cactuses look like they're growing hair!"; "Ooh, those look like snakes."; "Mom, look, that cactus is turning purple."  Perhaps she will become a horticulturalist, or at least a fan of horticulture like my mom.