Once upon a butterfly

A lovely photo pops up each time my hubby James revs up his computer. In the center there’s a giant orange kite in the shape of a monarch butterfly, and our three children are gathered around it. James took the picture nearly a decade ago while exploring a Desert Botanical Garden event featuring monarch butterflies.

Jennifer insisted I not share it here, though I’ve got butterflies on the brain after hearing the plight of monarch butterflies discussed during Monday’s “Here and Now” on National Public Radio. While Big Bird might note that the word “national” begins with the letter N, I’ve found that listening to NPR often helps me forge connections with arts and culture on a local level.

Children’s artwork spied at Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix a while back

After listening in my car to a broadcast featuring Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch, I was eager to get online and explore all things butterfly-related at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix this season. Turns out their “Mariposa Monarcha Monarch Butterly Exhibit” runs through Thanksgiving weekend.

Those who attend will find themselves surrounded by hundreds of live monarch butterflies, and enjoy “interpretive displays” about butterfly migration, conservation and such. The exhibit, which is open from 9:30am-5pm each day, is free for members and children under age three.

I learned all sorts of nifty facts with practical applications while listening to the “Here and Now” piece on monarch butterfly migration. Turns out monarchs, like pollinators, have a key role in keeping the whole ecosystem healthy. Hence the importance of tagging and releasing the little guys so we can follow their migration patterns.

Desert Botanical Garden is partnering with Southwest Monarch Study to tag and release butterflies several Thursdays this month and next. Each time, they’ve got 50 slots for people who want to tag and release a butterfly at 1:30pm. This week’s tagging event is full, but there were openings on Oct. 18 and 25 and three dates in November when I called the garden Monday afternoon afternoon.

Space is limited, so parents bringing children should reserve just one slot and work together with their kids on tagging and releasing their butterfly. You can sign up by calling 480-481-8188. If you go, think about hitting the gift shop on the way out to explore related books that’ll help turn time at the garden into ongoing teachable moments.

Martin Moreno Community Mural from Dec. 3, 2011 that once hung in the Tempe Center for the Arts sculpture garden located off the TCA Gallery

I remember taking our son Christopher to the exhibit one year when he was just discovering the fun of taking photos. He had a great time taking pictures of both the butterflies and their surroundings, and we’ve spent many seasons since choosing plants for the garden that make our yard an appealing habitat for butterflies and birds.

Butterflies make a fun theme for birthday parties, and great inspiration for craft projects. They’ve even inspired filmmakers to create “Flight of the Butterflies,” which plenty of folks in Arizona hope to see headed our way one day.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to explore NPR programming on KJZZ, and here to explore other DBG offerings (including a pumpkin festival, fall concert series, plant sale, dog day, art exhibits, NatGeo speakers and more).

Coming up: Shakespeare meets surveillance state

The Merry Widow?

Trixy Trimble is ruling her own roost these days (Photo: Christopher Trimble)

We have a precious little lovebird named Trixy who has been singing, and swinging, a bit more than usual these days.

I jokingly referred to her as “the merry widow” Thursday morning as Lizabeth was enjoying a bit of Trixy time before heading off to school — but Lizabeth was not amused.

Because Trixy is flying solo after the loss of her lifelong companion, Taffy, who now shares a lovely bit of earth in our garden with a tiny rodent named Gidget who met a similar fate about a year ago. Both were high energy animals, and we like to think they just ran themselves right out of steam — living life to the fullest before meeting their fate.

While Lizabeth was at school Thursday morning, Christopher and I headed to Ingleside Animal Hospital to have Trixy’s wings clipped. She’s a whole lot safer not being able to escape her cage for the wide open spaces of the house we also share with a cat named Pinky. Next we headed to the pet store for a small cage Lizabeth can keep in her room for Trixy together time.

It was a bit of a bird theme day as we also went in search of jewelry with a bird motif. We wanted to find a little something to honor one of Christopher’s colleagues who is retiring from her position with the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife at Scottsdale Community College.

My first thoughts were of Laurel Burch earrings, because they often feature creatures like cats and birds — and because I remember my mother wearing them when I was a child. Nowadays they’re harder to find, unless — like my daughter Jennifer — you’ve mastered the fine art of Etsy.

We ended up at the Phoenix Art Museum because it’s right next to Phoenix Theatre, where Lizabeth has afternoon classes with fellow theater students at Arizona School of the Arts. They helped us locate all kinds of bird fare — from origami paper crane earrings to a graphite carving in the image of a bird.

We also found brightly colored kitchen gadgets inspired by birds, a coloring book and note cards featuring bird art by wildlife artist Charley Harper, some hip bags (big and small) with a playful bird motif, and a couple of contemporary pins with whimsical bird designs.

I spent part of Thursday evening enjoying the Scottsdale ArtWalk, where I found more works inspired by dogs, pigs and rabbits than birds — but Trixy will never know unless she learns to read before my gallery photos get folded into a future “art adventures” post.

It’s always easy to get a bird fix at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, a fun place for kids and grown-ups to enjoy indoor exhibits and outdoor adventures. They’ve got a fun little retail area where my favorite finds are plush birds that make authentic sounds.

I jumped on their website recently and found all sorts of goodies — ways to help wildlife displaced by natural disasters, news of wildlife advocacy efforts in D.C., tips for “e-birding” and Arizona results of the “Great Backyard Bird Count.”

Their summer camps, all sporting intriguing names, are noted on the website too. Think Teen Naturalist. Bird Blitz. Pollinator Power. CSI Audubon. Click here to learn more about summer options for children and teens — or to explore their many programs.

Trixy’s agent might object to my speaking on her behalf, but I have a feeling she’s a firm supporter of all things Audubon — and grateful we didn’t stumble on a tiny tutu with her name written all over it.

— Lynn

Coming up: Music meets summer at the MIM, Stage Mom picks for the 2011/12 season, Art adventures: Scottsdale ArtWalk, Moms in musical theater