Travels With Stacey

Butterfly Conservatory

Let me first state that there are no snakes here. I adamantly hate snakes. Seeing one anywhere will ruin my day, and I will literally be dreaming of snakes for days. I am truly phobic of those legless creatures.

Why is this important?

Because Charlene is terrified of bugs. 

Beady eyes.

Long antenna.

Creepy long legs.

For her to go into a butterfly place with free-roaming butterflies threatening to land on her with their beady eyes, long antenna, creepy long legs would be the same as me going into a snake place with free-roaming snakes crawling all over me.

Charlene braved her fear. I, of course, was way too excited to notice her hesitation and had spotted my first picture opportunity when I heard a very loud:

"STACEY!"

The sound that came out of her mouth was of alarm and near terror, with a touch of nervous excitement. The near-scream grabbed my attention very quickly, and the attention of everyone else nearby. 

A butterfly had landed on her.

Fighting her fear, she had called me to get a picture of the beautiful winged creature that had softly landed on her hand. By the time I had turned around and snapped a picture, it had already flown off.

I was disappointed that I missed the pic. Charlene was upset that I was too slow, and she had experienced a terrifying moment for nothing.

We would slowly walk around this greenhouse that had to have hundreds of butterflies freely flying around. I tried ever so hard to get a picture of each type, but it was nearly impossible. These small, delicate beauties move rather quickly and are very camera shy. The moment I had one in focus, it flew away. Impossible, also, was to get a video. They fly in an erratic fashion that the only videos I was able to take were so shaky that they were unwatchable.

Charlene was quietly by my side. Slowly, ever so slowly, her initial fear and hesitation waned away. Replaced by the same curiosity and desire to see each type. I would begin to notice her with her phone trying to capture a quick picture. She soon was expressing the frustration of missing a shot, and no longer the terror of this place. She even had a few on her and clearly, by this time, she was having as much fun like I was.

Happily, she became like everyone else and thoroughly enjoyed visiting Butterfly Conservatory. The place is relatively small, even for a conservatory, but it is easy to circle around a few times in hopes of being able to see as much as possible. 

It is truly a place of joy. I imagine for most people, butterflies of winged creatures of grace and elegance and there are very few that see them as miniature hellish demons of terror. My beloved wife entered this location knowing of the fears she held when it comes to insects and yet she did it for me; I really wanted to go here. In the end, she, too, experienced the joy of being among so many beautiful things. 

Thankfully, I will never have to reciprocate because I know of no place that has free roaming snakes crawling all over the place, with their legless bodies, forked tongue, lidless eyes, and creepy way of moving.

Butterfly Conservatory is in the middle of Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. The gardens are free to visit, and once you have seen these butterflies, why not go outside and find wild ones pollinating the flowers in these 99 acres of botanical wonders. Niagara is a wonderful place to visit.

I have created a map of Flowers and Trees which Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens is included. This map shows other locations to see flowers. The map is constantly being updated so be sure to check it regularly.

Google Map: Butterfly Conservatory

Website: Niagara Parks