The menagerie in and around Manuel House has grown. The new resident is small and I think a bit confused. It may be a moth but I prefer to think of it as a butterfly. Not just for aesthetic reasons, though it is too pretty to be a moth, but because I've grown fond of it. As such, I hate to think that this small creature is eating my jumpers behind my back. So a butterfly it is.

It's living on the fourth step of the main stairwell. Most of the time it sits still, its wings folded up like a great sail over its torso. This afternoon I spied it walking to and fro with its wings spread, stretching them occasionally. It didn't move from the step. It never even attempted to fly.

This has left me with a small dilemma. Do I take the butterfly and release it back into the wild? It doesn't seem to want to go anywhere. Has it chosen that step to die? I searched the net a bit and nothing online suggested that butterflies favour heinous orange carpets as their final resting place. Is it stuck, or injured? I have no idea. Again, there's little on wiki about it. But I get the feeling it's not long for this world. Fortunately the cats aren't allowed in that area of the house. Bagel's not as picky between moths and butterflies as I am. I check the step on both ascent and decent to make sure I don't squish it.

There's a small chance that before the week is out I'll be posting submission chapters and a precis to one of the world's top publishing companies. The butterfly is spreading its wings and not bothering to fly.

Not me.