We had a very exciting thing happen last week. But the story starts back in October of last year.

We went camping for Deanna's birthday (some of you may remember) and on Sunday, as we were just finishing packing up, I noticed a bright, fluorescent green thing on the steps. When I examined it closer, it was a caterpillar but quite unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It had spikes on its back and hairs coming out of the spikes. Don said that meant it was poisonous. It was so beautiful and so unusual that we brought it home in Dane's fishing worm container. We put it in a jar with some of Grandma's fennel, made some holes in the lid, and showed him off to the entire neighborhood. The kids couldn't wait to take him for Show and Tell.

The next morning, however, our caterpillar was gone and, in his place was a cocoon. We were thrilled. I had never had a caterpillar in captivity that had spun a cocoon. I know lots of other people who have experienced this, but I never had.

We did a bunch of research and thought we had a Luna Moth, whose gestation is one week. We patiently waited for our little friend to burrow out of his furball and open his wing. One week led into two and, eventually, into a month. We took him off the fennel and put him in an empty plastic bucket in the kitchen.

As the months rolled on, people would comment that he was dead. But I kept the faith. I'd pick up the cocoon and talk to him and, occasionally, when I jiggled it, he'd jiggle back. Once, he almost rolled the cocoon off the kitchen table.

And there it sat, next to the toaster oven in the plastic container in the kitchen.

Last weekend, while eating lunch after church on Sunday, I noticed Daelyn pointing at the mudroom doorjam with a huge grin on his face. Don followed his pointed finger, then got up from the table and walked behind me. Finally, I turned too and discovered a moth. The whole family jumped up and looked him over.

"I wonder how the kids managed to get HIM in the house," Don said.

That made me pause for a moment to think about it. It was really big. I couldn't imagine it flying past the children while they held the door open. Then Don walked over to the cocoon and picked it up. I shrieked, finally putting two and two together. I rushed to the bucket and looked. The cocoon looked exactly the same. Don put it back down. I picked it up, held it, and began to look it over carefully. At the end, there was the tiniest little hole . . .

Our moth HAD hatched. And he wasn't a Luna, thus the length of time. Don looked him up based on his coloring and he's a type of silkmoth.

We watched him all day as his wings got bigger and dried out. When he began to get fidgety, we opened the door and shooed him out, then Deanna and I watched as he flew away. I couldn't have been prouder if I had birthed him myself. Our little moth had flown the coop.

It was quite an experience for all of us and something the children won't soon forget. Below (at least I hope it's below - I have trouble with this placement template) are some pictures of our little guy before he flew away.

Maybe someday we'll run into one of his babies and smile at the memory.