Fluttering by

On a recent trip to the really big city we took in a new (to us) museum experience, among other fun activities (including granddaughter babysitting!).

The Houston Museum of Natural Science's Butterfly Center is a really amazing place, one that was not in existence the last time I visited the Museum (since that was a long time ago). The educational exhibits inside are very interesting and informative, and they even have a whole wall of chrysalises in various stages of metamorphosis—some of our group even got to see a new butterfly emerging!

But the big draw is the multi-story butterfly garden where hundreds (possibly more?) of the lovely creatures flutter about in their multicolored and delicate beauty. On the right you can see a more-or-less panoramic shot of the garden, to give some idea of its scale.

Such a wonderful array of butterflies! And many posing so perfectly for the cameras...

No, I can't identify any of these guys for you. But lack of knowledge didn't diminish my enjoyment in the least. Various practical questions did arise during our tour of the facility, though, including how they're sure the lovelies get enough food...

feeding stations are scattered around the garden

...and what do they do about population control! We saw several instances of new life getting started, by the way of mating behaviors...

...but we're not sure how they keep the population from outgrowing the space. Someone suggested that overnight they bring in some snakes from elsewhere in the Museum or from the zoo! Glad that wasn't on display during our visit.