(The following story and video are by Yoli)
Our milkweeds have attracted a lot of butterflies. It’s given a lot of joy to my kids, especially Jadzia. But a few days ago she found a dead Monarch butterfly. She was devastated. I had never performed a butterfly funeral or prayed for them, but it comforted my daughter’s tender heart.
Enter Muncher. Wednesday morning, Jadzia found a Monarch caterpillar. She had been looking forward to finding some. We looked for more caterpillars, or perhaps eggs, but found only this one. She named it Muncher.
When Jadzia returned home from school, the caterpillar was gone. She was so sad. We looked everywhere and found it on the ground. We brought it inside, improvised a mesh home for it, and gave it some milkweed leaves. What a hungry caterpillar!
Later I learned that Monarchs only lay one egg per plant, that wasps and aphids are predators, that they usually die at higher than 95° F, and that storms might kill them. So we did right; we gave this little creature a chance.
Thursday morning we read a story in the newspaper about the decline of Monarch butterflies. Please, take time to read this story. Our milkweeds are going to have seeds soon. If you want some, we can share with you. Or, you can buy them from the Ferguson Farmers Market like we did.
We are planning to plant more of these beautiful flowers next year. Jadzia wants to tag Monarchs next year to help scientists. This whole things is growing more than I thought. But in my heart it feels good to do my part of Genesis 1:28 and be a good steward of God’s creation.