Yesterday, Andy and I went to Pacifica to do a butterfly presentation. We usually participate in the end-of-the-year butterfly festival at Sunset Ridge elementary school. This year was not our best. The kids are usually on the playground having snacks and getting their faces painted, and then come in for a few minutes to see live specimens and watch the video. This time, it was raining, so instead, we rotated between classrooms. In addition, one of the vases (otherwise known as a caterpillar cage) broke when Andy picked it up. It must have had some flaw. Glass scattered across the table and on the floor. Andy was bleeding. The kids REALLY wanted to get up close and see the disaster. I yelled at them to keep away. I was somewhat successful in my attempt at keeping them under control. People cleaned up, got Andy a Band-Aide, and we continued, somewhat behind schedule. But it worked out. All six kintergarten classes got to see the entire video and all the specimens. And, as usual, we got caught in rush hour traffic on the way back. It was not a fabulous experience, but we muddled through and got the job done. I would express a wish for things going better next time, but Joanie is retiring, so I think this was our last hurrah at Sunset Ridge.
When I first saw this specimen, the ground was littered with seed pods and I thought it was named "monkey hand tree" because the pods looked a little bit like they had fingers. Come to find out, it is the anthers that look like fingers, complete with fingernails. The tree is flowering now, and the "monkey hands" are laying around on the ground. The flowers are high in the tree and hard to photograph, but I tried. At least two of these trees grow at the UC Botanical Garden. One is near the front entrance, the other is in the Mexican section.
