The basic theme of this blog is the many seasons occurring in the natural world that can be observed here in Vermont. After all these years, there is one facet that I've never mentioned and that is the season occurring right now, the relationship between monarch butterflies and milkweed. The reason I've never mentioned it is because I've known next to nothing about it.
I decided it was time of that to change and spoke with my dharma sister, Mitra, the monarch and milkweed maven. She told me how to find the caterpillars among the milkweed and how to raise them into butterflies.
I started out in the field behind my house where I'd seen a patch of milkweed. By the time I got out there I was astonished to see that it had all been eaten!
Could the caterpillars have done that? No, the culprit was the cows. I didn't know they liked milkweed. I knew of a patch nearby, and went over to see what I could find. I hadn't been there a minute when I saw this.
I decided it was time of that to change and spoke with my dharma sister, Mitra, the monarch and milkweed maven. She told me how to find the caterpillars among the milkweed and how to raise them into butterflies.
I started out in the field behind my house where I'd seen a patch of milkweed. By the time I got out there I was astonished to see that it had all been eaten!
It's funny how some things change. I had read about the monarch and milkweed, but seeing this caterpillar made it real for me. There was a connection. It was similar to the bluebirds we've had in the backyard for so many years. A little bit of knowledge and a little bit of contact elicits a connection. Now those caterpillars became my caterpillars.
The story about the monarchs and milkweed is a sad and familiar one. Something beautiful is going away; the Amazon rain forest, the wood thrush, people we care about.
https://myaltonaforest.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/monarchs-and-milkweed-the-precarious-cycle/
On a happier note, when I was looking for caterpillars I saw this.
As I matter of fact, I saw 6-8 monarchs that day. There are a lot of things we don't have in Vermont, but it appears that we have boat loads of milkweed.
It's everywhere! Given that there are fewer cows in the remaining pastures, and given what the cows in our fields did to the milkweed there, it seems possible that the milkweed supply at least in our area is growing, and with it the population of these beautiful creatures!
Driving home from the Zen Center yesterday, I saw a number of monarchs crossing the road. I held my breath every time I saw one. They are so beautiful. The number of roads and other perils they will encounter on their way south seems almost infinite. One more being to worry about coming out of this newfound relationship.
Only connect
E. M. Forster
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