This is Joe, and yes that is a grown up size butterfly net. We've seen him and his giant net once or twice before from the porch, and a couple weekends ago we met the man in person, yay! Scott, our saintly neighbor/landlord used a phrase we have tenderly adopted into our own lexicon, one that describes this guy perfectly: "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks." Which is a really, really nice way of saying "that guys gay." Let me tell you about our official meeting with the Butterfly Hunter.
So after a Thanksgiving feast of Sunday morning breakfast that included: mushroom, ham and brie omelet, mountain o' pancakes, bacon, coffee and leftover peach cobbler-ish we were feeling pretty high on caffeine, sugar and carbs. So we threw on some shoes (Kansas cowboy boots to be exact) and ventured into the field below our porch. This had to be done very carefully because the grass is high and the word SNAKE was on the tip of my tongue. Tired from walking very slowly and feeling silly, we stopped to enjoy the scenery and chew on things.
Thats when Joe showed up. He tags Monarch butterflies (this is his full time profession) in our field and other places along their migration path and charts the data with his Conservatory program.
We were then treated to a 2 hour, hands on butterfly catching lesson and Q&A session. As INTPs, question and answer sessions are pretty much our favorite things. So here's how it goes:
And then he is distracted by our incessant questioning and accidentally lets the butterfly escape. Then we start over.
All the Monarchs get tagged with a little blue sticker that has a serial number and email address on it. Just like sharks, only it doesn't hurt.
It was a very educational morning, after which we both needed a nap. Joe, however, is probably still at it. 
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