Tag Archives: butterflies

short…

23 Thursday Oct 2025

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had a wonderful, but short, visit with my Ottawa daughter over the last few days…

she had been to Calgary for an event and stopped here on her way home…

lots of time together as we caught up in person… late nights and early mornings while she was here… and lots of laughter…

always cake from Baked Expectations when she arrives;-)…

we spent a lovely morning at The Leaf noticing the growth since she was last here and counting cacao pods…

she also spotted the first chileo on the second tree… made me laugh cause I’ve been looking for ages trying to spot one on that tree…

we visited the butterflies although they weren’t very active as it was cool and overcast but it was fun to see them together… the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa, currently has a butterfly display as well so we often compare which butterflies we each see, lol…

we worked on a plan for our next trip together and did lots of research on the computer…

dinners in and out as we ate some of her favourites and then we were headed back to the airport for her flight home…

always a treat;-)…

flora…

13 Sunday Apr 2025

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had another solo visit to The Leaf on Friday as I’d read that the flowering trees in the current display area were nearly finished blooming due to the heat…

I was surprised at how many people were there as I expected everyone to be outside enjoying the 17° C gorgeous weather…

as I entered the Tropical Biome I had to stop and wait a minute for the fog to clear from my glasses, lol…

happy to see the tiny flowers on two of the three cacao trees…

everything looked lush amidst the cooling mist that seems to be keeping the flora happy… quite surprised at how much the plants have grown… just last week it was easy to see all the way to the waterfall and now it is blocked again…

fun to watch one of the zoo keepers feeding the koi as I don’t often get to see that;-)…

the Mediterranean Biome had many flowers and the Babs Asper Display area held lots of plants, flowers, small trees, topiaries, and a truck filled with tulips…

the Butterfly Garden was busy with butterflies flitting about happily as they enjoyed the sunlight… the misting machines were also busy adding to the humidity and it felt very warm, lol…

so lucky to have this amazing place to visit;-)…

nursery…

22 Saturday Mar 2025

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had a lovely wander around The Leaf on Wednesday…

I went on my own for the first time and for anyone who knows me, that is pretty good…

the cacao trees are looking a bit sad, but most of the Tropical Biome looked good…

I spent quite some time watching the fish… they were very active swimming around the pond and a number of plants have been trimmed back so they are also much easier to see;-)…

the orchids in the Mediterranean Biome are still doing very well, with tons of blooms on them…

and the biggest surprise was the Butterfly Garden, which had more butterflies flying around than I’ve ever seen here…

zoo staff were letting a good number emerge from the nursery and there were many people admiring them as well… it is always fun to hear what the keepers have to say about the butterflies… they record each one as they release it…

then I took one last walk through the biomes as I waited for my ride…

free…

22 Saturday Feb 2025

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the butterflies are free;-)…

the closed in piece is still in the centre, but the door has been removed…

butterflies were flitting about all over the space… yay…

there weren’t too many, but it may have been the end of the two week cycle…

so happy to see them free and all the people sitting in the space watching them…

hearts…

04 Tuesday Feb 2025

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had a lovely time this afternoon as I changed up the living room table drawers…

removed my favourite things which had been on display since the end of November…

I’d decided on a “love” theme for February and early March, so I looked around and found items that would fit…

I found butterflies, dragonflies, hearts, crystals, a few items which reminded me of travels, and the L O V E letters…

pleased with the results;-)….

FDV…

25 Saturday Jan 2025

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on Wednesday, my daughter and I spent six hours at The Leaf…

upon arrival we were surprised and delighted to discover a coat check for members… my coat was free and we paid $2 for my guest…

we were a bit early and shared a Rice Krispies square and hot chocolate while we waited for our entry time to the Biomes…

we had a great time in the Tropical Biome where we came across the head gardener and had an excellent conversation about the cacao trees and chocolate…

we visited the Mediterranean Biome to see the Fleurs de Villes displays and met and talked with at least four of the designers…

lunch at Gather was a delicious tomato bisque and grilled cheese focaccia for me, and duck poutine for my daughter…

for dessert she had the honey cake and I enjoyed the squash creme brûlée, which was delicious, lol…

back to visit both biomes where we learned about orchids from a regular gardener talk in the Tropical Biome, talked with two of the zoo staff who shared lots of information about the butterflies and the 52 koi in the pond…

we also got to hear a few violin pieces by Gwen Hoebig, who was one of the models for the FDV displays… my daughter took this photo…

it was hard to pick a favourite, but this time I chose the hoop dancer…

out-of-town…

09 Wednesday Oct 2024

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another wonderful visit to The Leaf… this time with family from out-of-town…

we were there Monday, just after eleven and it wasn’t crowded… we began with a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens…

inside the Tropical Biome, we stopped to visit the three cacao trees, lol…

we had a great time in the Mediterranean Biome checking out the new display – Yasuragi: The Gardens of Japan…

I will be coming again and again to enjoy this serene spot…

from there we had lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar… delicious, as always…

a visit to the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden, where there were many varieties of butterflies, ended our time before we walked home…

certainly a delightful way to spend the day…

discovered…

21 Sunday Jul 2024

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when we got home from our time at the Airbnb we discovered twenty monarch caterpillars…

I had five milkweed plants but toward the end of their growing phase, the caterpillars were running out of leaves to eat…

they had stripped every leaf and I was able to cut some stalks from a friend’s yard…

I tied the new leaves to the old and we had just enough for them before hiding under leaves and building their chrysalides… two died, although there was still some leaves left…

we watched one caterpillar for a while once it moved into its j-shape but didn’t catch it weaving the chrysalis…

we only spotted two chrysalides, one of which vanished… not sure if it fell or something came along and ate it…

I watched it daily and then one day it turned black, which meant it was ready to eclose…

I watched all day, but nothing happened… late that afternoon I spotted the butterfly which had emerged…

it sat for quite a while before finally opening and closing its wings, but it was still on the iris leaf when I went to bed…

during the night the city came around and was spraying for mosquitoes…

In the morning it was hanging in a strange fashion and I was worried whether it would survive…

but, later I went out and she was gone;-)…

since then I’ve seen a total of eight butterflies flying through the garden;-)…

nature is amazing…

kaleidoscope…

12 Tuesday Dec 2023

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this morning in my Advent box I received a kaleidoscope of butterflies…

I love that name for a group of butterflies;-)…

some of them had broken free of their original home and had stuck themselves all over the inside of the box… it took a bit of time to get them all out, lol…

the glue on them is just down the centre of each one so their wings raise up a bit and they do look as though they are fluttering…

I put them on the bathroom mirror and they look very sweet there…

we will see if they stay or flutter to the ground as there isn’t much stickiness to them;-)…