Don't touch the butterflies! (Except if you're a Butterfly Lady.) |
The Daily Grind
Raising butterflies is fun. That is definitely a true statement. However, it's also messy, sweaty, back-breaking, exhausting work that takes place 365 days a year. The seemingly never-ending work necessary for keeping our Flight Encounter exhibit and gardens full of beautiful fluttering wings can be pretty brutal.Hours. Caterpillars don't take weekends or holidays off from eating and growing, which means it's hard for our staff to take time off either. Our volunteers are a valuable part of the team where this is concerned, coming in at odd hours so the MOSI Outside staff (all two of us!) can have the occasional long weekend.
Weather. Everyone knows Florida summers are hot. Most people complain about the muggy heat on the way from their air-conditioned car to their air-conditioned houses. MOSI Outside staff report to work on summer days knowing that by 10 a.m., we'll be drenched with sweat with no chance of drying out for many hours. Rainy days are no different - the caterpillars have to be fed, which means their food has to be gathered and brought into the lab, no matter how wet we get. Winter brings a welcome respite from the heat, but chilly mornings still find us watering the Flight Encounter and other garden beds. In fact, most days at MOSI Outside involve being pretty damp (and dirty) from start to finish.
That mulch isn't gonna move itself! |
Work is Work. Like any other job, being a Butterfly Lady comes with its fair share of paper-pushing, reporting, and other mind-numbing tasks. We spend a lot of time dealing with the money side of things (applying for grants, managing budgets, squeezing blood from stones - that sort of thing). We attend meetings, answer emails, and return phone calls. By the end of many days, we're watching the clock just like anyone else.
So Why Do We Do It?
By now you're probably wondering, "Geez, if this job is so terrible, why are you still doing it?" And that brings us back to the special moments, the moments that lead people to exclaim, "I wish I had your job!" Here are some of our favorite things about working as a Butterfly Lady:Come on, look how cute these guys are! |
The Bugs. We here at MOSI Outside delight in bugs of all kinds. Collecting eggs, finding caterpillars, catching butterflies - all of these are some of our favorite tasks, even though they involve being out in the same hot and punishing sun. Flipping a leaf to find a Spicebush Swallowtail egg, snagging a Giant Swallowtail from a firebush, or picking Cloudless Sulphur caterpillars off cassia bushes like blueberries... these are always high points of our days.
The Great Outdoors. Some folks go into work each morning and don't see the sky again until they clock out at the end of the day. And while some people don't mind being cooped up inside, MOSI Outside staff would simply hate it. We love the ability to be outside, where something new is always happening and the view is never the same. A typical day for us will include the spotting (and sometimes rescue) of dozens of wildlife species, even though we work in one of the most developed parts of the Tampa area. Natural beauty is a routine part of our day - but it never gets old.
Constant Learning Opportunities. There's no manual for the job we do at MOSI Outside. We're always learning something new, because working with living organisms requires constant research and adaptation. Smartphones have made our jobs even more fun, since we can now identify plants and insects in the field, and use citizen science apps to report our findings. This blog currently has more than 800 posts on a variety of topics, all of which we've written after study and experience. This is the perfect job for an autodidact, and MOSI Outside staff thrives on the challenges.
Special moments like these really do matter. |
So, do we "Butterfly Ladies" really have the #BestJobEver? It's hard to say. But there's no doubt that we have some pretty high highs along the way. Interested in joining us? Consider volunteering - click here to learn more.
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