Around the Yard: Creatures, Clemantis, and Children

One of the things I love about being a mother is having my children point out wondrous things that I would otherwise miss. Like this:
And this:
I was also impressed when Mari pointed out that this little creature isn't a moth as we first thought, but actually it is a butterfly. How could she tell? The antennae. We had just finished a book about butterflies and moths. The author pointed out that butterflies have thin antennae with a small thickening at the ends, whereas moths have completely different antennae. There were numerous illustrations to demonstrate this. After Mari pointed out the antennae were butterfly antennae, we probed some more and found many other clues that this was indeed a butterfly. I love it!

I also love this clematis. It was here when we moved in and every year has provided us with colorful blooms.
Though they aren't as sweet as this little flower:
This angel outfit (complete with a halo, though she doesn't wear it outside since it doesn't fit under her helmet) was a gift from her grandma one Christmas. She LOVES it and wears it all the time. At first I tried to keep her clean in it, and then realized that if she only wore it at times I knew she'd stay clean, she'd only be wearing it to bed. So I changed my mind and she can wear it wherever, whenever, except church (it's a bit too distracting there). And wear it she does.
After enjoying the butterfly for awhile, the children decided to bury it (it was dead when we found it). Joshy always gets a bit sad when one of God's creatures dies. He stood here for awhile mourning the loss and then chatted with me a bit about all the other creatures he's buried there and in the nearby garden area, including, but not limited to, toads, skinks, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, and a "bloody Santa". Anyone want to guess what that was?
He told me that when he dies, he'd like to be buried there too. We'll see.