Does it look like these two butterflies were just talking about how it was already the first day of November? Blink and the whole year of 2011 is almost gone! Remember "Y2K" and how the whole world was getting for all the chaos that came when the calendar turned on January 1, 2000! I am glad nothing really bad happened then. Eleven years later, "Y2K" was just another year that had passed. 
We had a busy weekend. On Saturday, my husband was raking, blowing and getting the leave ready for curb-side picked up while I was helping out at a festival. On Sunday, we went to an early Mass. We only had time for a quick breakfast before heading down to the Rams game. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints were marching in to St. Louis. It was sort-of a miracle that the Rams won their first game 31-21 over the Saints. Everyone talked about how the Rams must be motivated by the Cardinals winning the World Series. After the football game, we headed toward Busch Stadium for the parade. When it started to drizzle, we decided to leave and watch the parade on television instead.
A few weeks ago, I started to visit a parishioner at a skilled care nursing home. I brought Holy Communnion to Mr. K on Tuesday and Thursday. The nursing home was about a mile from the Butterfly House. After my visit, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and took these photos.
You could read more about the Butterfly House at www.butterflyhouse.org. I took family and friends here whenever they visit St. Louis. Both my Mom and sister enjoyed the butterflies but they could not stay inside the Conservatory long because it is 82 degrees (75% relative humidity) to accomodate these tropical butterflies. (QQ, I did not take you there because it was a short visit and I did not think you would care much for butterflies. It is sort-of girlie thing!)
Most of the butterflies are imported from Ecuador, Suriname, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines. There are no butterflies (or potato chips) from Brazil - haa haa (In the Peanuts, Lucy pointed to something on the ground and told Linus that it was a butterfly from Brazil. Linus corrected Lucy that it was a potato chip, not the butterfly. Lucy being bossy, would not admit that she was wrong, continued her "know it all" attitude and said, "It must be a potato chip from Brazil.")
The above sculpture was one of the 56 butterflies on display throughout the city from October 2010 thru May 2011. To see other sculptures I previously posted in this blog, search the label "butterflies". Or visit www.wingsinthecity.org for information about this citywide project and the artists who created the butterflies. The sculptures were funded by businesses and also were auctioned at a gala that raised a total of $1.3 million for Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care.
This week the Butterfly House closed for a few days for maintenance and clean-up of the conservatory. The trees are overgrown, covering the glass ceiling, blocking sunlight and most of the plants needed to be replaced. 
There are approximately 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies in free flight inside the conservatory. All the butterflies arrive in the chrysalis stage from different farms in Ecuador, Suriname, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines. I was surprised to learn that the chrysalis are shipped in FedEx packages. They must have special materials for this kind of transporting. Once the butterflies emerge from the chrysalis and ready to fly, they are released inside the conservatory. I often wonder whether these butterflies know that there is a much bigger world out there beyond the glass ceiling. Do they see the cloud and wish they could fly up high in the open sky? 
I am very thankful that I turned 51 years old this month. I don't mind getting older because the other option is not very desirable. Being 51 years old is a gift from God because there were many times in my life it could have been differently. I was 18 years old when my family escaped from Viet Nam, I did not know we would survived the horrid journey and living in America for my 20th birthday. I did not know that I would see my 30th birthday when I drove next to the 18-wheeler on the icy road during those years living in Michigan. It was a painful year when turned 40 because I lost my father that year. I am grateful that I am getting older and I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays.
