Pets of Chris and Ping

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. (Martin Luther)


Above, a famous quote above forwarded to me by my little sister, Ping who lives in the island of Waiheke, North Island, New Zealand.

She sends me the above picture with the following words...

"...these are the only pets we've had (Monarch butterflies), and will have (apart from the birds that come and go): (we've had them inside, which has been good for them, because there's been a type of wasp that have been eating them outside) the last one's flown away 2 days ago!..."

I chuckled when she sent me the photos of her "pets" a gazillion times and teased her that they were turning out to be her "kids"!

She adds..."...so funny: the 1st butterfly really did feel like "Oh! The first 'child'/one! Oh! Will it be able to fly out to find the right food? (It sure won't be eating the same thing as a caterpillar!) Will it be able to fly out and survive the weather outside? Will it be able to find its mate? Is it coded to be able to do all these things? It's a bizarre feeling alright. And then the 2nd one pops out: oh! I've seen a similar you before - you'll be alright. By the 3rd, and then the 4th, the 5th, the .... err... kinda lost track.

But the final one's obvious - the last chrysalis, the last butterfly out and gone. Thank god. don't have to keep looking for more swan-plants to feed it. Can do something else now."

Isn't it amazing how nature's gifts can totally awe the life of an ordinary human being? Nature works in mysterious ways!