Each August we do the same thing.......hunt for milkweed. We can be found wading through ditches or walking through fields, even stopped along the side of a road with our emergency flashers on because we have "spotted" the famous milkweed plant and we are running to get it! Why??? Because on this interesting little weed..... and only on this weed....there are Monarch butterfly eggs! Sometimes, we may even find a caterpillar already hatched and just eating his little heart out! Oh Boy, do they munch....!!!....eating their host plant.
The life cycle of the Monarch is so neat.
The beautiful butterfly lays its egg on the underside of a milkweed plant. Then in about 6 days a teeny tiny caterpillar emerges!
Next, it eats and eats and eats for about 7 days until it has grown into a brightly striped yellow, black and white, 2 inch long caterpillar.
Then, the caterpillar does an amazing thing..........it crawls to an elevated location where it feels "safe"..... then spins a little silk dot and attaches itself ......then drops down into a "J".
After about 24 hours, the caterpillar changes quite quickly into the most vibrant green chrysalis with gold dots! Yes, they are gold ...they look like 14kt. gold!!!
BEAUTIFUL!
AMAZING!
It, then, grows for about 14 days inside that green chrysalis.
Finally, the chrysalis becomes transparent, and the monarch can be seen folded neatly inside.
Next, very slowly, it emerges then hangs onto the shell to dry its wings and "pump" them up, preparing to migrate to Mexico for the winter!
Observing this 'Majesty of God' (as Chelsi refers to it) is a highlight of our school year! We are in awe of our Creator and how He planned every little detail in the life cycle of this magnificent "flying flower"! Although we have raised Monarchs for 6 years now, we are always just as excited as the very first year! It truly is a wondrous event!
There is a book entitled 'Monarch Magic' that is fabulous in documenting this entire process and explaining in great detail, how and why this happens! Lots of great pictures in the book too!!!
Now, I shared all of the above story to tell you this..... one particular year on Mother's Day, I received the sweetest poems from Chelsi. They have such deep meaning because of our Monarch days.
I have copied them to share below:
Our Love for Monarchs
The caterpillar hatches as my love does too.
Then she makes a chrysalis with thoughts of you.
At last, she hatches and she’s a masterpiece.
Just a little thought on Mother’s Day Mommy
The butterfly is made of love and she’s for you!
She wrote this poem the same year so I copied it here too.
A Rainbow of Mommy
Pink is for your favorite color.*
Red is for the ginormous heart you have.*
Orange is for the sun that sets on your birthday.*
Yellow is for the lemons that you love.*
Green is for your eyes that sparkle like glitter.*
Blue is for your favorite snack, blueberries.*
Purple is for the Iris’ your daddy plants.*
This is a rainbow of Mommy.
*************
Oh, how I love my sweet girl! I LOVE sharing your life! I LOVE seeing the world through your eyes!!! I LOVE BEING YOUR MOMMY!!!
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9 comments:
Wow, now I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for milkweed.
Those poems are precious. It is wonderful to be a mother. And God is wonderful.
Wow I never knew Monarch's were so amazing! What a special thing you do with your daughter. And those poems are adorable!
God bless you friend!
Wow I never now that milk weeks were used for something good. I may have to think twice before I yank those weeds out next time. Thanks for share those sweet poems. God is soooo good.
I know you feel blessed to have your daughter, but I also believe your daughter is blessed to have a mother who loves her so much! Thank you so much for continually reminding us by your example how we need to love on and encourage our family!
Praying for you,
Kimberly :)
I love your pictures of the Monarch! I'm so glad to have met you and your sweet family, such a blessing! I've enjoyed looking thru the Favorite Blogs you posted!! Looking forward to seeing you soon.
I just stumbled upon your blog and I have really enjoyed reading about your family!! I love this post and especially the picture of you with your sweet daughter!
That was beautiful.....I can feel your love......I especially like the bottom picture......she is a little you! ;)
Love the mommie poem. So very special.
The monarchs reminded me of when we lived in Santa Cruz, CA. It was one of the spots they migrated to each year. They are so beautiful.
What an awesome poem your sweet daughter wrote.
I LOVE Monarchs. God speaks to me often through butterflies. I have learned alot about them.
My favorite part is the part of the struggle to emerge.
A tiny whole is pierced into the cocoon and the butterfly has to struggle through the tiny hole to escape. If someone were to cut the hole bigger to lessen the struggle it would deform the butterfly.
Seems the process of struggling through the little hole is what has to happen to remove the excess fluid from their wings so they can fly. If they don't struggle to emerge, then they will be deformed.
I just love the spiritual picture in that and in the butterfly itself.
Thanks for sharing,
Blessings,
Julie
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