Today I walked outside and found a little creature lying still in an open box on our driveway. It looked dead, but after studying it for a moment, the eyes appeared to have life in them still. So, I got Lily to come check it out and we used a piece of paper to move it into the sun to see if it would survive.
When I lifted it the wings fluttered…
We built her a soft nest of grass inside a plant pot, with a bit of shade and sunny area, and something for her feet to grip. Then we watched, the neighbor kids observed, and we learned. A couple hours later, she flew off.
Video and imagery to come
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What Lily learned: All about the species, that there are many hybrid like species of creatures in our world, the effect of our skin oils on butterfly/moths wings and feet, She also learned the value of being gentle, quiet, slow movements, nurture and care for tiny, fragile creatures, soft landing places, how to provide a conducive environment appropriate for the application, how to discuss her discovery with other kids (ages 5 and 10), teaching other kids about her discovery, and allowing her curiosity to drive her to learn more (“let’s look it up mom, so we can tell if she’s a girl or boy”, etc). She also learned that the creature possessed the ability to recover itself, when given a safe environment to do so. We discussed the value of sunlight and the warmth, as well as safety and calm in the recovery process (I suspected the moth flew into the side of the garage and stunned itself).