Life Lessons: Monarch Butterflies
I went laissez-faire on my backyard this summer and the weeds took over. While it looked like a mess, something amazing was at play.
Earlier this week, out of sheer embarrassment, I set out to reclaim control.
I pulled weed after weed. That is, until my eye noticed something munching.
It was a caterpillar.
On milkweed.
Words can't capture the thrill I felt as the Google search confirmed my suspicion - it was to be a Monarch.
I smiled, and stopped pulling out the remaining "weeds."
***
Now protected by mesh netting, there are THREE caterpillars.
Day after day, they eat. They are meticulously doing the work that will eventually support their transformation.
They “put in the work.”
Yesterday, one formed a chrysalis. I already I can faintly see the formation of its wings underneath its hardened shell.
It's truly magnificent and although this process is much faster than what we as humans experience day to day, it's a reminder:
> Slowing down to notice is the only way I found these caterpillars. Hastily moving though life doesn't serve anybody.
> Sometimes the "weeds," allow new (and amazing!) things into your world.
> Preparation leads to transformation. The chrysalis glows as it transforms.
> Nature is AMAZING and wild backyards are where it's at.
***
DYK that <5% of monarch caterpillars complete the metamorphosis process to become the butterflies so many of us love. It's truly a miracle to get to witness the process up close and personal.