My Dears,
I hope you had a great weekend!
Yesterday Chris and I had a lovely ‘date night’ which included tasty Indian food and a movie. Skyfall, the new James Bond flick, kept us quite entertained. Although it drove Chris nuts that Bond wore American suits throughout, rather than garments that sported the traditional English style cut (one vent vs. two vents). Ah well, if Bond can sip a Heineken, I suppose he can wear an American suit.
This morning we headed downtown for a trip to the Pacific Science Center. For a brief stint after college, I worked in the Animal Care department at PSC - it was a great job. We lived downtown and I got to take the monorail into ’the office’. But I haven’t visited much recently and I was dearly looking forward to Ben being old enough to enjoy the museum so we could trek down there together.
My very favorite exhibit is the tropical butterfly house. It was also the best place to work on cold winter days - a welcome, humid respite from damp and chilly Seattle weather.
At one point I could tell you the scientific name of every species in the place. But I’m afraid that memory bank has long ago ceased to be accessible. This one is a Caligo memnon, commonly called an owl butterfly, thanks to its big ‘eye'.
And this one is a Morpho peleides, commonly called a blue morpho. You’ve doubtlessly seen them as they have a brilliantly blue flipside.
Look at the little bit of foam this individual has on its coiled proboscis. At least it appears like foam. Any guesses?
The famous Danaus plexippus, the Monarch. We didn’t get to see the IMAX film based around this species, The Flight of the Butterflies; perhaps next time. Ben is not yet much into stationary activities (like films) at this time.
This photo is similar to one my dad took in Mexico of the Malachite butterfly [scroll to the very bottom of this post to see his version]. I like his better.
And, of course, there are more critters and activities at PSC than just the butterflies. The tide pool, the dinosaurs, the snakes, and planetarium. Ben had a blast in the toddler play area.
But I will remain a butterfly house groupie for life.
xxoo,
Sonja
