Sunday afternoon, Museum of Natural Sciences, fourth floor
I know I'm getting these out of sequence, but Friday and Saturday were loaded with pictures and I have no idea when I'll find the time to upload and comb through all of them. Sunday we woke up, had a leisurely breakfast and went to Raleigh's Farmer Market to get our week's produce. The kids tagged along, it was hot as Hades and we bought a round of freshly squeezed lemonade to make the trip more tolerable. Next stop was Pierce Produce for quarter-pound hunks of fudge. That's a must try for you locals. It's in the second main building on the hill, about midway down.
From there, we skipped over to the Museum of Natural Sciences. The butterfly conservatory is open for a limited time on Sundays and because we missed it last go round, we wanted to be sure to see it this time. We arrived shortly before one and decided to head straight up to the fourth floor (where they house the butterflies, the cafe, the anthropod zoo and any rotating exhibits).
At the entrance to the floor, posing in front of the praying mantis
One of my favorite shots of the week
The temperature inside the conservatory is controlled. It's easily eighty-five degrees, if not hotter. With all the tropical plants and the constant shuffle of visitors contributing to the stifling heat, you feel as if you are melting. We stay in there as long as we can but more than a few minutes and it becomes suffocating. We snapped off a few pictures and exited. As you'll see in the next photo, each nectar water has a bright sponge on it. This insures that the butterflies have a safe place to sit and don't fall into the saucers and drown.
And finally, the sloth. We have been to the museum several times and never seen him climb off his perch. He was eating a mango in the tree.
From there, we skipped over to the Museum of Natural Sciences. The butterfly conservatory is open for a limited time on Sundays and because we missed it last go round, we wanted to be sure to see it this time. We arrived shortly before one and decided to head straight up to the fourth floor (where they house the butterflies, the cafe, the anthropod zoo and any rotating exhibits).
At the entrance to the floor, posing in front of the praying mantis
One of my favorite shots of the week
The temperature inside the conservatory is controlled. It's easily eighty-five degrees, if not hotter. With all the tropical plants and the constant shuffle of visitors contributing to the stifling heat, you feel as if you are melting. We stay in there as long as we can but more than a few minutes and it becomes suffocating. We snapped off a few pictures and exited. As you'll see in the next photo, each nectar water has a bright sponge on it. This insures that the butterflies have a safe place to sit and don't fall into the saucers and drown.
And finally, the sloth. We have been to the museum several times and never seen him climb off his perch. He was eating a mango in the tree.
