The Release!

Another part of our Easter (although Blogger decided it shouldn't be included in my last blog), was the release of our pet butterflies. After many days of feeding them, talking to them, and even singing to them, it was finally time to let them fly. Kendyll was really fighting this whole idea of letting them go, until we actually lost one. It "passed on" to butterfly heaven, probably from running into the plastic walls too many times. But, once that happened, Kendyll saw why we had to release them. They weren't made to live in a plastic house with sugar-water as their only sustenance.

So, release day was set for Easter Sunday. The only problem----we had weather in the 40's instead of the 70's and 80's like we thought. I was a little worried that their wings would freeze, and tried to encourage Kendyll to wait until later this week. But Kendyll was determined to let them go on the day we decided. (My little scheduler had already written it down in the daytimer in her head, so there was no changing it! I can totally relate.)

Here are some pictures from the moments of their release. We opened the top, only to have nothing happen for what seemed like a VERY long time!
Some were more eager to leave than others. In fact, only one flew away on his own....that was Crazy Bazy, according to Kendyll. Mark reached in and got a couple to fly away from his hand. One struggled all the way over our fence, and then practically ran into the neighbor's house. I don't think he made it in the world very long. His wings didn't seem up to the task.

And, then three of them were set on the plants (see below), and they never moved. But, they did move enough for us to know they were alive. (As you can see above, Kendyll CLOSELY inspected to make sure they were moving!) Finally, my two sisters who are animal lovers decided to put them back in their plastic home to stay warm. They were convinced that the cold was too much for them and couldn't bare to watch them freeze.

So, they still reside in our kitchen...until the weather improves. Or, until they, too, run into the plastic walls too many times to survive.

This was such a fun memory for our whole family. It was funny to watch so many of us wait expectantly in the freezing cold for these little things to fly away. And, hopefully, the few that left us will come back to visit soon. At least that's what Kendyll thinks they'll do. :)