THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 20, 1996 TAG: 9605200051
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
It being apparent Sunday we had jumped straight from winter into mid-summer, leapfrogging spring altogether, I dropped by to see how the Dancing Butterflies were doing as they began their last week on view at the Virginia Zoological Park.
The zoo's 50 or so acres off Granby Street in Norfolk offer expanses of green space where visitors dawdle and sort of catch up with themselves.
``Are there bears in here?'' a child called to her mother.
``Nope,'' said her mom.
``I saw something with a dark brown furry back over there,'' the child insisted.
Hurrying along on the grass amid human families was a procession of a Canada goose, four fuzz-ball goslings, and the gander, all in a straight line as if pulled by a single string.
The mother goose, dead set with some destination in mind, led the way, the father bringing up the rear as the resigned tag-along guard, a combination you often see at the zoo. The geese are not among the zoo's official inhabitants, but are year-round residents.
In the small admission tent, its sides open to the breeze, eight Brownies were holding a caucus on whether to spend on the butterfly show what was left of the funds they had raised for a day at the zoo.
As I drew up, a casual gent said, ``Give me the privilege,'' and bought them the tickets.
``Did it occur to you, Suh,'' I asked, ``that you may have deprived them of a lesson in decision-making that might stand them in good stead?''
``Stuff it,'' he said, cheerfully.
And I had to admit that the mingling of Brownies and butterflies was entrancing.
Their troop leader, Nancy Dickie of Virginia Beach, has a daughter, Theri, in Troop 555. Her older daughter Margaret, a Junior Girl Scout, had come along to help.
The Brownies wore on their sashes a triangular patch, termed a ``Tryit,'' which struck me as a witty name for what among Boy Scouts is known as a merit badge.
One Brownie, Katlyn Winters, with two Tryits on a sash, had another 17 at home.
On guard at the exit of the large butterfly tent, Junior Leaguer Christen Martin snared any errant butterfly that sought to leave along with sightseers.
Major Bennett, director of the Virginia Zoological Society, which sponsors the show, said that the first week went smoothly.
Some 800 school children visited Friday. ``Inside the tent, they mellowed out,'' Bennett said.
Bill Hill, owner of the butterfly farm in Naples, Fla., and director of the show now at the zoo, said that severe cold spells had interrupted the butterflies' life cycles and reduced their numbers in the wild in Virginia. by CNB