Such an amazing thing happened Saturday morning.
I’ve been over-wintering two Black Swallowtail chrysalises. Late last fall, I brought my parsley plant indoors that still held some hungry, active caterpillars. They seemed on the brink of going into the pupal stage, and the temperatures were starting to get into below freezing territory. I brought the plant inside and put it into my butterfly cage and let the two fat guys eat until they went pupal, and have had two chrysalises in the basement by a window all winter long.
One of the chrysalises was hanging from the stem of the parsley plant. The plant wasn’t doing well in the basement, so in January I brought it upstairs and put it in the sun room, where it rallied. I wasn’t sure if the chrysalis was even viable; it was gray and shriveled looking, and I just watered the plant around it, figuring eventually I’d put it back in the cage around May.
You see where I’m going. It’s only April! Came downstairs Saturday morning to find a gorgeous butterfly clinging to the sliding glass door. (A female, by the blue markings.) It was a sunny warm day, and will be even warmer over the next several days, so instead of running to the basement for the butterfly cage and trying to get her back in, I simply cupped her and went outside. She sat in a tree for about 5 minutes then fluttered to the grass, lots of dew and I imagine she wanted a drink.
Here’s the baby girl:
She flew off about 20 minutes later. I did bring up the butterfly cage and put the parsley plant in it to give the other butterfly somewhere to land when it finally opens.
This other one is more sensibly attached to the mesh, not on a plant that needed attention. I’m hoping that sitting in the sun room will encourage it to open, so I can set it free with its sister.
Here’s the cage in my sun room, next to herbs and Buddha. 
I’m so glad the first one didn’t fly up to a corner of the ceiling and become impossible to catch - and, that a cat didn’t find her first.
Fun times - for me, anyway. 
Summer has begun now, I don’t really care what the calendar says anymore.
And a mother cat, who was about to have kittens soon 
Spring is such a beautiful season 
I remember doing something like this when I was in elementary school, but I think it was a silk worm? Some kind of silk thing that turned into a moth. It was such a wonderful thing to experience!
Not quite as fun, even though we did get little sprouts from it. I like the silk worms better!
plants and it stayed a little longer then fluttered off 
