gardens, butterflies, trains, and a walk

Yesterday, I went with some friends to Stan Hywet hall and gardens. It's a big old house that it was far to nice of day to go inside - so, we walked around the gardens and ponds, and checked out the conservatory. Where I half expected to see Mrs. Peacock standing over a dead body with a Candlestick in her hands.

The Conservatory had a pretty cool train set up - two tracks that looped around a large area with lots of waterfalls and quaint little log houses. Pictures were taken.

It also boasted a butterfly area - protected by a "butterfly" lock in the form of 2 sets of doors. There were strict rules about entering and exiting the area to protect the butterflies - but once inside, it was amazing. The area was thick with them, including some huge - and friendly - examples of the species. Pretty cool. It was neat to get up really close to them and watch them feed on nectar and pollen - or when they were just hanging out.

One species - according to the guide - doesn't eat. They only live a few days as a moth - the rest of their life is as a caterpillar. Sure enough, the one we saw fell off a branch and died right in front of us.

There was nothing to be done except make a quiet joke about "mouth to moth resuscitation" and then move one. One of my friends had one land on his back as we neared the exit and we had to have a little help knocking it loose - after pictures were taken, of course.

The rest of the time there was spent in the gardens trying to avoid the countless wedding parties that were having pictures taken there. It wasn't easy, but we managed to avoid being including in any "special memories"

Late that afternoon, I developed a massive headache that followed me home. I took some aleve and managed to quell it enough to get to sleep that night. It was still there when I got up to pee twice last night and the last vestiges were still there in the morning.

But, it faded enough for me to venture out and take what ended up being a 3 hour walk in the hot sun. I tried to keep myself hydrated and mostly succeeded. I'm still a bit tired, but a cool shower helped and I think it was good trip. I also tried out Fazolli's - a sort of fast-ish food italian restaurant. I had pizza - which was good but seriously greasy.

And I guess that's it for now. Later...