Monarch Butterfly

For over thirty years I have experienced awe and joy in raising monarch butterflies. Each summer and fall there would be dozens of monarchs floating about our gardens along with numerous females fastening eggs to milkweed plants scattered about the gardens and fields. I would harvest numerous egg-speckled plants growing in the paths and raise the caterpillars in my studio. I had grown to fondly anticipate having the animated caterpillars as part of my life each summer and observing their struggles in becoming the butterfly they were nurturing within their black, white and yellow bodies. Witnessing a caterpillar's efforts in preparing for the unveiling of its chrysalis and then waiting with the jewel-like pupa until the butterfly formed and pushed out into the world, had been one of the greatest joys of my life. Added to that joy was seeing the thrill in my son's eyes as he watched this metamorphosis with me and later sharing this small wonder of nature with other adults and children alike. I saw with gladness how neighbors began to care for their land differently knowing that such tiny treasures were hidden within their fields. During the summer of 2013, only two monarch butterflies made it to our gardens and they came so late the milkweed had nearly gone to seed. I did not find one egg the entire summer. Now, we know due to habitat loss and climate change the monarch migration is threatened.