Snow in April

This is an Instagram photo I posted yesterday. The caption said, "Yay! Our forsythia is blooming. Winter has officially ended!" Tempting fate? Apparently. . .

. . .because this is what we woke up to this morning:

A foot of snow and 25F outside!

As soon as my hubby and kids left for school I zipped up my jacket, grabbed my camera, and headed outside. I only ended up staying out for 20 minutes, because it was very cold. (The wind was still blowing and it was snowing.) But I took a handful of pictures for the scrapbook.

Bye, kids! Thank goodness a new bus stop was added in front of our neighbor's house. Too bad I spent Spring Break last week putting away winter boots, though.

Look at that wind blow!

I did have one more task I had to accomplish before heading inside to change my wet clothes. One of my friends in Australia requested a photo of a snow angel when she saw a snowball fight video that I had made. Unfortunately the snow had melted by afternoon. So when I saw the snow this morning I knew what I had to do!

(I did take a photo with my dSLR, too, but Instagram has instant filters--ha ha.)

Twirly Girlies

Two Teens

One advantage of having teenage daughters is that they start holding still for longer periods of time when you want to photograph them.

The End of a Chapter: Butterfly

This morning, we noticed the pupa had grown transparent and dark. And when we returned home from church, we discovered this. . .

Can you believe that beautiful, huge body fit inside that tiny package? I didn't realize how strong the webbing and connection between the wall and the pupa was, either. For something that looked so fragile, it took quite a bit of effort on our son's part to peel the pupa off the side of the container so he could study it.

It would have been lovely to see the butterfly emerge from its pupa, but I was able to capture some video footage of its first wing-strokes, and our son was able to hold it while it strengthened its wings. This afternoon, we all released it outside, where it sat in our apricot tree before flying away with (amazingly) a second monarch butterfly.

I'll have to admit, I never thought I'd get teary-eyed over an insect, but when our son exclaimed, "Oh! I'm so glad I saved her life!" as she flew away, I'll admit I shed a few tears. This has been a tender experience for our family, and a fascinating event to study. What miracles exist around us in this world of ours!

Caterpillar, 9-29-12

Something's happening inside the pupa! The color's been gradually becoming more dull, and we can see the little butterfly inside. The kids are ecstatic.

Caterpillar, 9-20-12

The next morning, as the kids were getting ready for school, the caterpillar got busy. . .

. . .and by that night, it had completely shed its skin and settled in for a nice, long nap.

Caterpillar, 9-19-12

Our son must have picked up the caterpillar just at the right time, because two days after he brought it home, it started scouting out its new home for a special development. . .