Well so before I actually start this blog post I feel like I should warn you that there a lot of pictures of butterflies. Oh and also, I will probably use the following words way too much:
- enchanting
- delightful
- magical
- fascinating
- mesmerizing
Just so you know. 
Anyway, so as you might have guessed, not only did I get to spend a delightful {see…told ya} day photographing flowers at the arboretum, on Saturday I met Terri (and her sweet friend Liz) at the Discovery Gardens for an afternoon of shooting – you guessed it – butterflies!
The funny thing is that I’ve walked by the Discovery Garden building at least a dozen times because it’s on the grounds of the Texas State Fair. Which is home to the fair of course, but more importantly (to Okies anyway) the annual Red River Rivalry aka the OU/TX game.
So if you’ve never been to the butterfly exhibit, it is well…magical. I just can’t think of any better way to describe it. Seriously, it’s like being in magic fairy land with these enchanting {you thought I was joking didn’t you?} creatures flitting and flying all around.
There were several different species of butterflies including this beauty who would sit still for long periods time in this position, but which I could never get a shot of the brilliant blue color on the other side of its wings.
Seriously…the color and variety of butterflies was just mesmerizing.
The other cool thing about this place was that they have a special place for incubating the chrysalises (chrysali???) and as the butterflies emerge (not hatch – they only hatch once from the eggs) they are allowed to let their wings dry and get ready for their release. And everyday at noon, they release the new butterflies. Which is omg…so amazing.
They are truly just the most fascinating creatures.
So after a couple of hours and at least a zillion butterfly photos later, the three of us decided to walk over to the little cafe on the fairgrounds and grab a quick bite to eat. And I know that you’re probably thinking that the photo portion of this blog post is probably over, because what else could there be to photograph on a cold, windy, rainy day in Dallas if you’re not inside shooting butterflies. Right?
Wrong! 
There was just as much fun stuff to shoot outside as there was inside. OK so maybe I might not use words like enchanting or magical, but seriously…check out this cool bamboo.
And I got the biggest kick out of watching Terri pick up Sweet Gum balls to take home to photograph. I guess they don’t have these in her neck of the woods. Which any Okie who’s ever had to pick them up out of their yard, would probably gladly ship them all to her.
Like I said yesterday, it was so much fun to get out and see and photograph new things. But I think my favorite part was getting out and making new friends. In fact…it was delightful.
Love, Kelly
I love all the butterflies!!! 🙂
It looks like you had a magical day with Terri and Liz. I love the enchanting Discovery Garden as seen through your eyes. Your butterfly images are mesmerizing, the bamboo fascinating, and the entire post delightful! I like all these descriptive words too! 🙂
I’m glad you had such a good time on your weekend. There’s a tiny small butterfly area where my son is which we went to visit when we visited him. They truly are so amazing and enchanting and graceful!
Reading this post was like going back to that magical, enchanting, mesmerizing and delightful day! So special to get to spend it with you. Your butterfly shots are beautiful and I know how challenging it was to catch them sitting still so we could photograph them. Yes, I actually packed up the 15 sweet gumballs I picked up in a tupperware container and brought them home. Wonder what the TSA guy thought when he inspected my luggage! Hope one of these days you can come my way and I can share my part of the country with you.
Well you are right on the mark — I would be using every one of those words — my most favorites are #2 and 3 … super shot too.. how you got#2 so clear is WOW!
Hugs