For Earth Day, I decided to celebrate by spending the afternoon sketching in my favorite indoor rain forest,
The Cockrell Butterfly Center .
Unfortunately, I failed to realize that a few hundred grade school children would also be celebrating in my 'secret' sanctuary. . . It turned out to be one of my favorite visits ever. How quickly you forget what its like to be a young explorer, especially in a place like the Butterfly Center. The lush landscape is enhanced by winding paths, a 50 ft waterfall that ends in a cave, an orange iguana named 'Charro', and of course, hundreds of fluttering butterflies swooping from flower to flower.
 |
| Ferns next to the cave |
 |
| In the Cave at the bottom of the path |
 |
| Looking up |
As I sat on one side of a bench along the path to sketch, I was constantly being engaged by curious passersby. It's funny to take in the different reactions to live drawing. Some stand a few feet away inconspicuously starring at what you're doing, other brave children come up close to view the work in progress and give a small critique. My favorite interaction of the day?: One little boy very seriously asked if monarchs were poisonous, to which I definitively answered, 'No,' and then he ran away, apparently satisfied with my authority. I look forward to learning more about these graceful creatures over the next year as any other questions would currently be fielded.
 |
| A Sketch of the Butterfly Center 4-22-2015 4PM |
Enjoy the Outdoors! xo The Bayou Botanist
No comments:
Post a Comment