Pardon Me, Which Way to Mexico?

Normally, my oversensitive sympathy does not extend to the animal kingdom. But I don't let myself watch too much Nature TV because I always root for the prey, no matter how starved the predator. As long as they stay out of my house, LET THE VERMIN LIVE!

But I nearly cried when Lizzie found this beauty in our front yard last week.It was the day before it was supposed to get cold and he had clearly lost his way. I mean, if I was a butterfly, I'd be leading the way to spend the winter in Central America, following the scent of sunshine and tacos. So either this one was hung over from the Packers game the night before or was just too old to make the journey, I took pity on him and let Lizzie bring it in the house.

She kept it in a bucket with some flowers and a little dirt to make it feel at home. It slept in her room and she called it... wait for it... Butterfly. We had talked and she knew that it wouldn't live long so I think she didn't want to invest too much time in an adorable name.

After a night in the garage, I had her take it to school. I thought that the teacher would appreciate science in action, especially since it didn't fly. She didn't, and Lizzie brought it back home to live out the rest of its days with us.
Really, it was a nice pet. It sat on Lizzie's finger, happy to be warm inside, and didn't make any mess. It drank juice (okay, that was very cool to watch) and contentedly moved its wings periodically to let us know that it was still alive.

It took two days before I found it tipped over in its little bucket. Lizzie buried it in the backyard and then started begging for a puppy.

Not going to happen.