Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Missing the Blue: The Story of My Life These Days…


One day a couple of weeks ago, I was perusing my Facebook page and came across an announcement from Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory that there was an influx there of Blue Morpho butterflies.  I was feeling a bit better from the cold that has plagued me since the beginning of the year, so that sounded like a good field trip for me and my daughter Carrie.  We found a date when we were both free and I drove out to Northampton and went on to Magic Wings in South Deerfield.  I didn’t realize until we got there that it was Martin Luther King Day.  The place was full of kids.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I think it’s great that kids go to Magic Wings and places like that, but it does make the place more crowded.  Oh, well…might as well enjoy it anyhow.

You know me enough to know that the one thing I truly enjoy about outings like this is that I can take hundreds of photos.  That just makes me happy.  I was so looking forward to capturing that magnificent blue on those Blue Morpho butterflies.  Well, what I didn’t realize is that you only see the blue while they are flying.  Once they land, the wings go together….ZIP!  And all you see is the brown that is the underneath.  With the remnants of my cold and the crowded conditions slowing me down, I got ZIP!   I shouldn’t complain.  There are many butterflies who probably envy that nice brown bottom of the Blue Morpho because it is beautiful in its own right.  But I was disappointed.  I wanted that blue.

The beautiful underneath of the Blue Morpho.  
The best of a bad batch!  At least you can see the blue.
We did see other cool things that day, including a new family of Bearded Dragons and a really cool fern frond that was beginning to unfurl.



The Hibiscus flowers were a nice bright spot on a very dreary, very cold day.


But I am disappointed that I couldn’t get that blue.  Seems like the story of my life these days.  I started out 2013 with that darn cold that is just now beginning to go away.  Then managed to pick up a stomach virus.  So missing the Blue Morpho is just par for the course.
  Things can only get better….right?



13 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

all uphill from here! :)

and even the closed shot is remarkable.

Chatty Crone said...

Photos make me happy too!

Anonymous said...

What adventure !

Pamela Gordon said...

Beautiful photos and that blue is such a brilliant colour. Almost periwinkle blue, my favourite. I hope you have, at the least, blue skies to cheer you up. Glad you're feeling better.

Debbie said...

oh barb, the photo's in this entry made me smile....and made me happy!! things are already better!!

Brian King said...

Beautiful shot even without the blue! I wouldn't have thought anything about it if you hadn't mentioned it. I have a friend who has bearded dragons. I guess they're fairly popular pets.

RobertN said...

Beautiful post!
Best wishes!

MEcoy said...

that butterfly shot was stunning
i love it

MadSnapper said...

amazing hisbicus.. and one we don't have. love the bearded dragons..

Deanna said...

February has got to be a better month for you. It's no fun being sick. Fantastic captures of your field trip.

Rose said...

I googled for images of the Blue Morpho...boy,what a beauty it is. The underside is beautiful, too...but sure understand being disappointed in not getting the other.

Your hibiscus shot is superb!

Sorry you have been sick...don't know if you read my post at Pics & Pieces on Jan 21...we had the stomach flu and Roger and I had a cold that followed...but it was a nightmare of a weekend.

Juliana said...

wow! cool for winter mood!
1st and the last pictures are my favs!

xoxo, Juliana | PJ’ Happies :) | PJ’ Ecoproject

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Catching up, Barbara, and I know what you mean about preferring to be someplace when it's not so crowded. But as you noted, good for the kids to see these marvels.