This pass Saturday, I went to the Museum of Natural History with two little children from my church, Azeria and Jeremiah.

I received museum vouchers when I attended the Young People’s  Unity day at my church and planed to go to the museum alone; however, changed my mind and decided to babysit for fun…yeah, I love children that much!

I’m glad I did because we ended up hanging out with Therese and Peter. We met at the museum and had so much fun together that we plan to have another play-date this weekend.

While I enjoyed the Butterfly Garden, the Journey to the Stars and the other exhibitions I thought the Flight of the Butterflies was the best one! It’s a short documentary on the monarch butterflies. It speaks about their journey from the United States to Mexico every fall. Before I watch this documentary I thought the butterflies died at the end of the summer. I didn’t know they actually migrated across seas to a place in Mexico!

At the end of the documentary, two things came to me: God is simply AWESOME and I its time to travel to Mexico!

(Image is not mine, credit must go to the movie, Flight of the Butterflies)

Cameron looked at me warily, backing away from the sign. He’d been to Imax and Omnimax movies before. There was the mountain climbing one, where the avalanche scene sent us frantically scrambling down dark stairs for the exit and Cameron was so distressed they refunded my tickets on the spot, and the 3D Hubble one where Cameron wailed, “Don’t let the smoke get me, Mama,” during the space shuttle take-off scene … the scene I’d thought he’d be guaranteed to love.

“I know you’re nervous, Cameron, but …. Butterflies, Cameron. How scary are butterflies?”

He gave a little nervous laugh, and asked me if any butterflies would die. Uh, it’s a nature show. I was pretty certain we’d see death. But I shrugged and said that I didn’t know. It was all I could summon up. This was a rather spontaneous dinner-and-movie thing at Telus World of Science (aka Science World), at the end of a long day at work, and I’d just picked up both kids and gotten them to Science World via Skytrain to meet Leif there.

Cameron eased up a little, agreeing to try the movie, and we all headed to the restaurant for the burger-and-fries dinner included in the package deal. Leif managed to snag the comfy chairs, too. I’d anticipated a crowded and kid-intensive evening, but it was surprisingly empty.

Okay, so butterflies died. LOTS of butterflies died. In fact, they died by the bajillions.

Still, Cameron was only briefly sad, not traumatized, and left the theatre all smiles (and yawns), even eager for more Omnimax viewing. Maybe, he says, he’ll watch the arctic one with me.

What does this mean to you? Everything! If these native pollinators are dropping in record numbers, so are other pollinators. But there is something you can do about it. Make a small rest stop (or waystation) for the butterflies to help increase their numbers. This is a quite simple thing to do.

To create a habitat for monarchs, you need to provide milkweeds for the larvae, nectar plants for the adults, and sufficient vegetation to provide shelter for the larvae, pupae and adults. This all comes in a small kit for $16 here at Monarch Watch Stop.

How to Build a Monarch Waystation and lot’s of other useful links:

You can also purchase Milkweed seeds here for $3 a pack at Butterfly Encounters
Milkweed Growing Instructions: Live Monarch
From Here and Now on NPR a great radio piece with audio – Majestic Monarch Butterflies Under Threat
IMAX 3D Movie: Flight of the Butterflies
Teachers: Monarchs in the Classroom

I’ll be building a Monarch Garden this spring and I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Let’s help our little orange and black friends….before it’s too late. If you’ve created a garden already, please pot in comments and offer some advice to others. Spring’s almost here and I can’t wait! Happy planting!

Zapata Metro Station at 9:30 AM on March 7th.

I took this picture this morning on my way to see Ilse, my spiritual director.  As Metro stations go in Mexico City, it is not very busy.  I have been in one or two stations where we have been several people deep on the platform and access to the platform is controlled to keep too many people from getting too near the trains.  Nevertheless, this morning was busy enough.

As is usual, I was concerned about pick-pockets.  Theft can be a real problem here in the metro system, and so it is good to be aware of your surroundings and your pockets at all times.  This morning I had on a pair of pants with only two pockets in the front.  Also, the pockets were quite deep, making theft even more difficult.  I wondered if perhaps this is where the expression originated.  A person with a great deal of money may, in fact, want deep pockets, in order to prevent others from stealing what they have.

Whatever its origin, the expression “deep pockets” has come to mean an individual or an organization with a great deal of economic resources.  The term became popular in the 1970′s apparently, and was used especially to describe the target of lawsuits.  It is still used in this way.  A person or organization with “deep pockets” may simply pay out the lawsuit or have the resources to fight it in the courts.  In any event, the net result will not have much affect on their bottom line.

It strikes me that this “pobrecita” or poor little thing, also had deep pockets in its lifetime.  It is what is left of Monarch butterfly here in Tehuacán.  Had I seen it a few months ago, I would not have thought much about it.  However, when I was in Ontario last month, my sister and I watched “The Flight of the Butterflies” at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, on an enormous IMAX screen in 3D.  This film changed my understanding of these beautiful Mariposas forever.

The film documents two different stories.  One is the story of the scientific work involving Canadians, Americans and Mexicans in discovering the life-cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.  It is a fascinating story in its own right.  However, it is the other story that interests me here, the story of the life-cycle they uncovered, which is amazing.

The film started with the life cycle of the Monarch in Texas, where the mature butterfly lays its eggs on milkweed and dies.  Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed and it is part of their defenses.  Milkweed is very bitter-tasting and thus so are Monarchs.   When these Monarchs mature, they fly north to states like Missouri or Kentucky, lay their eggs on milkweed and die.  The following generation makes its way to places like Michigan, Minnesota and Ontario where the life cycle repeats itself.

However, this time there is one enormous difference; this generation of butterflies hatched in the north now makes an incredible journey.  The Monarchs fly from Canada and the northern states all the way to México.  In fact, it seems, most of them, anywhere from 60 million to a billion of them, end up in the mountains of two particular states within México: Michoacán and the state called México (To read more about this area check out this link to the biosphere there).  Their journey can be as much as 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles), and when they get here, they hibernate for about five months.  Then, in March they fly north again to Texas, where the annual cycle begins again.

I cannot imagine the resources those butterflies have to journey from Ontario to Michoacán and then a few months later back north to Texas.  But here, for sure, is a creature with very deep pockets and incredible reserves of energy and determination.  Oh to be like them in our journeys!   To have their strength and their resilience!  In many ways, that is what we are called to in our spiritual discipline called Lent.

But it is also an image of the love that God has for us.  God also became small and weak in becoming one of us.  But in doing so, God has taken a very long journey over thousands of years and with a determination that is utterly undaunted.  Why?  So that each one of us may also know how precious, important and loved we are.  As Francis Thompson so ably put it his poem, God is the Hound of Heaven, who will not stop chasing us until we are caught and finally know that we are loved.

Brian & Maria get an update on Hurricane Sandy recovery from Cindy Erickson, CEO of Saint Louis Red Cross.
[audio_link url="http://cbsstlouis.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/1-13-cindy-erickson.mp3" name="TIAM Weekend" artist="Brian Kelly & Maria Keena"]

(Photo by Mario Vazquez/AFP/Getty Images)

Wow, it’s seriously feeling like WINTER now, isn’t it?!

So cold!!

Don’t worry, though… it’ll probably be in the 90′s again in a few days.

But in the meantime, if you want something cool to do indoors, go see “Flight of the Butterflies” at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History!

It’s an IMAX movie about the monarch butterfly’s journey, which should make you feel pretty wimpy since you never travel that far, AND you have a car…  

You can find the show times for that here.

Or, just go see ”Skyfall” there because they’re showing it on IMAX, too!

Cool!!

Flap your wings, and click on that player below:

Follow Jack on Facebook or Twitter @JACKFMDFW for JACKTIVITIES updates!

According to dictionary.com…

art [ahrt] – n., the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance; the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; any field using the skills or techniques of art; illustrative or decorative material; the principles or methods governing any craft or branch of learning; skill in conducting any human activity; trickery; cunning; studied action

I hadn’t felt the sun in two weeks but for the daily walk between Metro Center and my new job.  Starved for fresh air on my first free day off, I embarked on an art adventure at the Smithsonian.  It had been over two months since my cross-country journey finally reached Washington, D. C. limits and I hadn’t yet been to a museum!  So I went, with a Subway sandwich that I ate on a sunny park bench outside, watching quietly, the castle at my back and open grass before me, Washington Monument left, Capitol Building right, and strangers, squirrels, and birds rustling all about me.

With the last bite and a deep breath, I stood up and took my first step toward adventure.  Like viewing a photograph, my eyes followed the scene as I walked, settling with fascination on tiny details that hide in the depths of life’s story.  And I captured them – the little flat man stenciled in yellow in the crosswalk; the fringe of my scarf in shadow on the steps of the museum; the twinkle of the light distorted by tree leaves on bare hallway walls.  My camera in constant use, I collected images that I hoped would paint memories I would one day put into words – these words.  My steps seem to take themselves as I wove through a maze of galleries and artwork with countless pathway possibilities.  I never even looked behind me, never had to choose a route; everything there was to take in made its way through my stream of consciousness and all I did was follow, eyes wide, at whichever pace felt right.

The thing about the museum, and the rest of the world, is that ‘art’ is what connects us, creates us, is created by us in everything that we do.  We see ‘art’ in almost anything.  Imagine that.  One trip to the museum heightens my senses, enhances those tiny details, magnifies them in meaning, giving me a deeper understanding of beauty – of art.  It’s a natural process – art of visiting a museum.

I went home in the evening with aching feet, filled my body with food and sleep, and woke up newly inspired and reenergized.  And here I am, writing this to you: Go to a museum on your next day off.

Next stop: Imax film, Flight of the Butterflies, “to experience the most incredible migration on Earth” and the Live Butterfly Pavilion, where I will “walk among nature’s flying canvases.”

The iconic monarch butterfly is a true marvel of nature. It weighs less than a penny, yet it makes one of the longest migrations on Earth across a continent, with pinpoint navigational accuracy, to a secluded place. For the first time ever, witness the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, inside a chrysalis. Travel to the remote mountain peaks of Mexico and discover the secret overwintering site of millions of monarchs. Join Dr. Fred Urquhart and his family on a decades-long quest to unravel a scientific mystery. Check out the trailer at www.rhfleet.org.

While we were visiting the Montréal Botanical Garden, we spent some time in the Insectarium. We found out staff only recently finished the tricky task of tagging and releasing monarch butterflies.

According to Global Montreal, the tags on the butterflies’ wings are 9 millimeters in diameter. That worried me at first, but only because I am mentally meter deficient. Nine is the equivalent of about 1/64 of an inch.

Even at that, the miniscule tag weighs almost 1/10 of a butterfly. Does that make it wobbly in flight? If someone removes 10 pounds from the stack of weights on the assisted pull-up machine at the gym (Without getting specific, let’s just say that is less than 10 percent of my body weight.), my arms notice. They cannot hoist my body skyward. Again, I guess I should not worry, because some of the monarchs monitored in past years have arrived safely at their Mexican destination.

On to my next worry. We, in San Antonio, are on the flight path. But, are we going to be ready?

I mean, I just made almost that same flight Saturday, and it made me really hungry. The mister and I bought a sandwich in the airport to split on the plane to Newark. But that first leg left us hungry still, so we bought two sandwiches to eat on the flight to Houston. Then we still had to refill a little in Houston. It took me a beet and feta salad and half a bottle of wine to be able to make it home.

So, we required considerable refueling to make that flight. And that was with complete pull-up assistance from the plane.

In case you are having difficulties following my illogic, after covering more than 1,700 miles, those fluttering monarchs are going to be plenty hungry on arrival.

This past spring, I watched the caterpillars along the Museum Reach of the River Walk, and they really pack it away. They decimated that milkweed patch. I walked upriver yesterday to inspect, and it has yet to fully recover.

So that’s why I’m worried. The monarchs are already on their way here, and the milkweed’s not ready. Hurry up and grow. You have a job to do.

Which all leads me back to the Insectarium. As with the rest of the garden, it took more time than we expected. We are even less ”bug people” than “plant people.” But more than 160,000 specimens are housed there.

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That’s a lot of bugs, butterflies and moths. Obviously, we did not meet them all or we would be flying back way behind the monarchs.

The displays make bugs fascinating. Many insects are shockingly beautiful; many are shockingly horrifying, creatures created to star in nightmares. Why, get this, they have cucarachas even bigger than we grow them in San Antonio!

I’m just happy we were at the Insectarium on a September weekday and didn’t have to shove any kids aside to get our noses up near the glass.

Update Added on October 4: Not desiring additional recaps of last night’s presidential debate, I drowsily reached for the off button on the clock radio this morning when the story changed. NPR (TPR in my neck of the woods) ran a story on migrating monarchs captured in a new 3-D film for IMAX, Flight of the Butterflies, directed by Mike Slee.

The NPR story features some cuts, but the film is not migrating toward the Alamo IMAX very quickly. In the mean time, here is the trailer:

A San Antonio blogger obsessed with monarchs provides better informed posts on an ongoing basis at Texas Butterfly Ranch.

And, Monique Beaudin blogs about monarch adoption, birthing and releasing at home in Montreal.

Update Added on October 5: The San Antonio Botanical Garden has a seasonal list of bloomers you can plant to refuel migrating monarchs, and the San Antonio Zoo exhibition features 15 to 20 species of farm-raised butterflies fluttering freely in a walk-through enclosure from March through November each year.

Update Added on November 6: And then there was the monarch taking our migration shortcut by hopping aboard Southwest Airlines to the San Antonio Botanical Garden….

Update Added on January 18, 2013: The Native Plant Society of Texas is making it easier to plant more milkweed for monarchs to munch on during their long journey up and down North America:

Native Plant Society of Texas chapters, nature centers, schools, educational groups and others can receive small grants from the State Office to spend developing Monarch Waystations or Monarch demonstration gardens on public sites in their immediate areas.

The purpose of the program is to educate members and the public about Monarch conservation, to produce and distribute milkweeds that support reproduction by Monarch butterflies, and to restore Monarch habitats throughout the Texas migration flyway.

Grant sources are co-funded by Native Plant Society of Texas  and Monarch Watch. The total amount of monies to be budgeted for this program varies. Normally it is an amount that will provide for grants ranging from $50 to $400. Chapters and others are not required to spend their own funds to match the amount of the grant.

http://stampingmoments.blogspot.co.nz/  Visit her blog and get tutorials for herself.  She regularly up dates them and delievery is fast.

First Card is from her Strength and Hope Gift Set.

I love this set and even though it is retired I frequently use it for my projects.

I love using the Subtles Collection, though Rose Red is not a colour I use very often so it was nice to use a new colour.

I used DSP for the bows but you can use ribbon.

This fancy fold card was fun to make, I have made the same idea but tall, so making the long one was different.

You can make two cards out of an A4 sheet of cardstock so economical.

Next is a card from Jenny’s Flight of the Butterflies Tutorial.

My Mum loves butterflies so I always have to make her one or two cards with them on.  Especially since she has got sick, it makes her smile to see new butterfly projects.

This uses double stamping to do the main butterfly so used our Stamp-a-ma-jig, and punch art for the butterfly embellishment.  Another great way to use up your scraps.

So if you loved these cards make sure you visit Jenny’s blog and get the tutorials and many others for yourself.

Hal has been married to Jo Lanier Meeks, formerly of Albany, Georgia, since their graduation from law school in 1979. Jo  is managing partner of Pursley Lowery Meeks LLP and primarily represents the securities industry in dispute resolution. They have two children: Stuart, born in 1983, and Lanier, born in 1988.

Stuart was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma in his temporal lobe in 1990 and was treated with surgery. Stuart graduated from the Lovett School in Atlanta in 2002 and from the University of Georgia in 2008. He is currently a student at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.   Lanier graduated from Lovett School in 2006 and graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 2010.  She will atttend graduate school at Marymount University in the fall. 

Hal has served on the Board of the Brain Tumor Foundation for children since 1998 and as President from 2001 through 2008.  Hal has participated in nearly all of the activities and fundraisers organized by BTFC, but has been most active in the annual Flight of the Butterflies spring event.  He has come to know many of the children and the families through events such as the Holiday Party. 

Hal says the most important role of BTFC ”is to be present for families in times of crises and helping where we can: with information, with emotional support, and with financial support.  There is nothing harder on a parent than coping with a child being seriously ill.  I count my blessings that things have gone so well for my family, and I see BTFC helping others in very real and practical ways.”

Hal and Jo are active in the community in other respects, serving the legal profession in a number of capacities, and assuming leadership roles at Northside Drive Baptist Church, where they have been members since 1979.   For fun, Hal is guitarist and lead vocalist with the Cussinwillas, a classic rock band.  They can be found at www.cussinwillas.com.