Monarch butterflies

In sheltered forests made up of Eucalyptus trees,

And places where their foodplant grows,

Farmlands, gardens and arbitrary spaces,

Monterey pines and Monterey cypresses,

The Monarch butterfly may be found,

These lovelies were once a common sight,

But now, most unfortunate, have become a total rarity,

Just like the monarch butterfly on a macro level,

Making a huge spiritual journey, on the micro-level,

Each of those butterflies once started out as a caterpillar,

That couldn’t do anything to move forward on the journey,

Except to consume and rest,

The caterpillar is stagnant until it goes through,

The metamorphosis into the butterfly,

This insect which represents nature at it's most powerful,

A tiny delicate winged creature endures miles of flight for survival,

Monarch butterflies embark on a marvelous migratory phenomenon,

They travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more,

From the northeast United States, and southeast Canada,

To the mountain forests in central Mexico,

Where they find the right climate conditions to hibernate,

From the beginning of November to mid-March,

The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus,

Which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation",

The name evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize.

Small creatures with great big spirits of endurance

A life lesson within these words for everyone to consider!

Excerpt from: Conservation.org/butterflies/monarch

Adopt a Monarch Butterfly.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[