Bigger Than Life This Florida conservationist takes butterfly
gardening to the next level. By Karey McCann, Okeechobee,
Florida You can think big when you have a 43-acre backyard. This
is what Sue Arnold, owner of Arnold's Wildlife Rehabilitation
Center in Okeechobee, Florida, did after the 2004 hurricane
season. Storms had damaged an orange tree grove near the side of
her home. After they hauled away the ruined trees, Sue began to
think about what to do with the cleared area. She knew she
wanted it to stay as a wildlife-friendly habitat, so she devised
a plan. "It dawned on me that I could turn it into a butterfly
garden as an extension of the animal conservation efforts of the
center," Sue says. "I didn't really know what would happen, but
I figured I'd give it a try." The result is a free-roaming,
1/2-acre butterfly garden laid out in the shape of a zebra
longwing, the Florida state butterfly. Sue named her garden
Butterfly Haven and the "flying flowers" come and go as they
please. After the garden was pla