Wednesday 15 February 2012

hidden treasures

So I arguably had one of the best childhoods ever.  We lived on a block with tons of kids our age and would disappear outside to play and roam the neighborhood for hours on end.  Up until about jr. high, we would spend every Friday night as a family, celebrating "Family Fun Night" which often included going out to eat, epic rounds of putt-putt golf, movies or the like.  We spent summer vacations in Minnesota at my grandparents cabin.  We had a box turtle as a pet that spent most of his time roaming around the first floor of our house.  We had parents that would take us sledding at 11:30 at night when school was called off for a snow day the night before.  We saved up our allowance money to walk up to Baums, the corner drug store, to buy candy and gorge ourselves on it on the walk back home.  It was great.  I look back on my growing up years with nothing but fond memories - what a gift!

Often we also had one of these guys perched on a bookshelf or ledge in our house:



Any ideas what it is?

It's cecropia moth cocoon.  My parents, being the science buffs that they are, would take us exploring to find them growing up.  Or my dad would often show up at home with one he had found during his work day.  So there it would sit in our house,  and we would all go on about our business.  And then one day, in the spring the moth would imerge and we would spend some time together watching it, studying it, just being amazed at the creative natural world around us.  And then we'd set him or her free to find a mate.

So this year, for Elsa's birthday, Breck received a special box from Grandpa Kurt.  (And Breck made out like a bandit, by the way, on a birthday that wasn't even his - how does that work?!?)  And inside was the little guy pictured above.

Hope he or she hatches!  

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