4.3.08 : : Babes and Butterflies

When I was a kid, one of my most favorite things to do in the world was to catch butterflies. I lived for summer so I could run around with my little butterfly net and my friend Tina, my butterfly partner in crime. Upon catching these beautiful insects, we would promptly deposit them into a jar filled with rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton balls and kill them so they could live in our rooms forever, captured behind glass and mounted in a box.

If only my parents had bought me a camera.

This afternoon Jason and I took off for the Frederick Meijer Gardens to spend the day in 88 degree humidity and take pictures of these magnificent creatures. I was in heaven.
How hot is this...Jason with a camera! Ok, perhaps just to me, but it isn't often Jason asks if he can grab one of my extra cameras for an outing, but I loved that he did today. It was great fun.




As if the butterflies weren't enough, I had an extra treat of seeing tropical birds high in the trees.



I thought this picture was so sweet. This little boy was infatuated with this winged delight.
And this would have been an AWESOME shot if only I'd turned around a half second earlier. This butterfly in the upper left-hand corner of this picture was just flying off of this little boy's shirt.


I also had a photo session with Ethan this morning at his home. Ethan is my friend Karin's son and no stranger to my camera. I would post more pictures, but after spending the last hour and a half looking through butterfly pictures, it's time for me to take my leave of the computer. I just loved his sweet little expression here.


I have a lot more butterfly pictures, but simply don't have time to post them all. Perhaps I'll put them into a gallery in the near future if anyone is interested in viewing them.