Butterflies . . . and Birds!

Last Sunday, before catching my flight back home, I visited Butterfly World in Florida--near Fort Lauderdale. What an amazing place! And after seeing a few exhibits about the life cycle of the butterfly, you walk through a couple of doors to an amazing sight: hundreds of butterflies fluttering around an oasis of tropical flowers, small ponds and fountains, and lush greenery. I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sight, but perhaps what was especially enjoyable was watching the small children come through those doors, their eyes widening in wonder, small squeals of delight as they took in the sight of the hundreds of butterflies. I'll put a slide show in below, but first, check out this video for just a glimpse into the place:

And yes, if you stay still for very long, you might just have a visitor! (When you leave the butterfly area, you walk through a double set of doors, with an air current, and with mirrors so you can check all sides to make sure you're not leaving with and hitchhikers!)

Here are lots of pictures from the butterfly rooms. Several shots are just flowers, and there's one shot of a butterfly just emerging.

In addition to the butterflies, the place had many many birds. This is the first blue hummingbird I've ever seen! (He's hovering, wings flapping, just over this dish of sliced bananas (an owl butterfly is enjoying a banana.)

There was also this room set aside for Australian lorikeets. There were truly amazing. Here's a video of a couple of the colorful birds in the bath (I recommend you have sound for this one):

You could purchase a small container of nectar to feed the lorikeets who would land on your hand and arm, drinking in the sweet juice. But be careful! As the pics below show, they'd also land anywhere else---even on one woman's head! I had one try to crawl in my bag too. Silly birds. Other than the lorikeets, there were many other incredibly colorful birds--several types of hummingbirds, several pairs of huge macaws, finches, and many others.



Truly a fabulous place---beautiful, peaceful, and an amazing break from the hectic pace of life.