This has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the state, and I am fortunate enough to live about 15 minutes from it. I spent the day there today because things have been very rough in my life lately, and I needed to slow down. This was just what the doctor ordered.

The photos will be slightly pixellated because they have been through multiple resizing programs. These are originally HUGE photos.

I'll start with the slightly more boring photos: the plants.








The next photo is a Military Macaw. This guy was trouble with a capital T. He liked me (a LOT) for some reason, and climbed off his perch, onto the ground, over a plastic fence, over a wooden fence, and up onto the railing to sit next to me! His trainer was freaking out. He came running over and warned me to stay back. I just laughed, the bird had no intention of hurting me. I said, "This is what I do for a living. I handle large birds like this. He's fine, I promise." The trainer put him back onto his perch, but after the trainer left, the stinker did it again! I wrestled with him on the floor and shared an ice cube with him. He danced and whistled and everything, what a hoot! Everyone was laughing at us as if they thought we were putting on a show. It was great. Here's Mr. Mischief:



Another, much smaller bird:




And, without further ado, the BUTTERFLIES:







Caught one emerging from its cocoon:






















And, finally, one of my favorite shots of the entire day. I felt very inspired by this particular butterfly:





I know my stuff isn't as good as Andrew's , and I know I probably don't need to say it, but just in case...

I like my photography. Please don't steal it.