Free, Take One

A while ago we took one of our couples to One Tree Hill / Cornwall Park where you can see all over Auckland. We usually stop at the Visitors Center and have a "look around".

When we were there this time they had a display to make poppies for Anzac Day (New Zealand Veteran's Day) in one of the rooms.

 In another room they had origami butterflies and some live butterflies in a large glass  container.

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There were also some plants with a sign that said: "Free, Take One".  So we did.  Some how Susan got it in her mind that this was a poppy plant.  We brought the plant home and replanted in a flower container on our balcony.  As time went on the plant grew taller and looked almost like a small tree.  So we moved it out of the flower container into a larger container.  It grew and flourished.  Soon it got large green pods on it.

One day we noticed a caterpillar on the plant and some green things hanging on the leaves as well.  We also noticed that there were some little tiny insects on the leaves (maybe aphids).

We thought should we spray some oils on it to repel the caterpillars and aphids which seemed to be eating our plant.  But we were busy and so we did nothing.  Then one morning I was talking on my iPad to our grandchildren and went out on the balcony to water the plants and this is what I saw.

Upon further inspection we noticed that all the liitle green things were gone and there was just a "tissue-paper-looking" pod remaining.  This prompted Susan to call One Tree Hill and learn that the plant was called a swan plant.  The swan plant is what the caterpillars eat and then turn into pupa and finally emerge as butterflies.

Life went on and one day we noticed that we again had caterpillars on our plant.  In fact we had about 20 caterpillars.  One morning we woke up and the caterpillars had eaten nearly all the leaves - there were just a few left around the base of the plant.  We went to church and when we returned 3 hours later all the leaves were gone! We got on the internet and learned that caterpillars would also eat milkweed and pumpkin.  Of course it being Sunday, we went to the nature walk by our house and brought home an assortment of things for the caterpillars to eat, none of which they would eat.  They did however start to eat the pods.

Monday morning came and we went to the store and bought a piece of pumpkin and the caterpillars were happy again.

Soon they were again climbing back up the stalk of the plant and transforming into what we learned was a pupa.

By night we had 6 caterpillars left - several of our caterpillars had crawled off, but that is how nature works isn't it.  This was now mid-February.  We started watching them very closely, as we did not want to miss them emerging this time.  On Monday, February 29th, as we went to work we noticed that one was very dark and by the time we came home that night, the butterfly was gone.  

We missed it, but we had 5 more.  Every morning and evening upon returning from work we would check for butterflies.  The morning of March 3rd, one emerged.  

When we came home from the office they had all emerged and we watched this last one test its wings and fly away.

Now our butterflies have begun a new life.  We too began a new life on March 11th as we returned to Utah and our home and family.  Hopefully we have been like the butterfly and grown into something better than we were.

"Most often we don't get to choose the lessons we are about to learn.  It seems that some teaching moments come unexpectedly; we can't always anticipate them.  Sometimes the learning comes from experiences we would have avoided completely if we had only been given the opportunity.  But through those experiences we learn that sometimes a particular set of circumstances is just what may be required to allow the neede growth to come."  Emily Freeman, "Love Life and See Good Days"