[General note: I
wrote the last two Field Notes, as well as
most of this one, while in Mexico. I don't know why, but the theme of
community kept showing up in almost everything that I wrote while
there. At the end of this Field Note is something that I've been
thinking about recently. If you read the postnote and think you might
be interested please drop me a note. I'll be on a trip for the next few
days, but will get back to you as soon as I can when I return.]
I think of the monarch butterflies story as one of the natural wonders
of the world. To fully appreciate it you have to understand what is
happening right now as they leave the wintering grounds. In late
February the butterflies begin to mate. The rising heat of the day
brings them out of the stupor that they have been in since arriving in
November. As they begin to take wing during the sun lit hours of the
day they pair off. I saw many monarch pairs at my feet, trembling
together as the next cycle of life began. In March the butterflies
begin to leave the wintering ground heading generally north and fanning
out east and west.
They don't make it further than Texas. In Texas begins a
process that is slowly played out across the face of North America till
the end of summer. As spring begins in Texas the milkweed plants begin
to grow. The monarch migration is timed so that the butterflies arrive
in Texas to lay eggs on the new milkweed plants. Milkweed is the only
plant that the caterpillar stage of the monarch can eat.
As spring and summer progress this sequence occurs over and over again.
First the range of live milkweed is expanded, then the latest
generation of monarch butterflies shows up, lays eggs and dies, leaving
the next generation to continue. When the final generation of the year
flies in early fall there is not a single monarch alive that has ever
been to the wintering grounds. And yet hundreds of millions of
butterflies find their way back to the same wintering grounds, often to
the same tree that last year's butterflies roosted on.
That such an incredible feat happens is a miracle not just of biology,
but also of the cultures that are tied together by the monarch.
The horse that I rode up the mountain to the remote sanctuary was
handled by a young man named Salvador who appeared to be around 11
years old. That made him old enough to have reached 3rd grade, where
most of the local indians end their education. After finishing
photographing the wintering grounds for the day we journeyed back to
town where I had a wonderful meal of fresh trout cooked by a resident
Indian. While I enjoyed the meal of trout, onions, cucumbers, avocado,
tortillas and pears I also shared the patio with a sweet dog, a chicken
and a hen turkey who kept parading her new chicks through the patio.
(The oldest chick was shooed out of the kitchen twice.)
These were beautiful, friendly people. Their existence is united with
ours by the monarch butterflies that will float through our lives this
summer. The men in this village can only afford to live with their
families during the months of the monarch, when visitors pay to see the
wintering grounds. The rest of the year they have to leave their
families to seek work elsewhere. The town these Indians live in is so
remote that when I tried to get Salvador's address I learned that mail
was not delivered to the town. It is a different situation than ours,
with different dilemmas. A single tree in the wintering grounds can
bring in $350 if cut, that leads to a pretty tough decision for the
people living in the village. Sometimes we get the mindset that the
wildlife around us is somehow "ours". But migrating animals make it
abundantly clear that they do not belong to local communities, they are
instead a thread that ties together distant and diverse communities
into one.
The monarch lives a very complicated life, but not one that is
out of our reach to understand and help. I believe that as we evolve we
need to nurture a deeper understanding and empathy for all life. The
monarch has several critical phases in its life and we can help it
along in several ways. Plant milkweed in your garden, school grounds or
even along the side of the road. If you release monarch butterflies as
part of a school project make sure that milkweed is available where you
release it. If you are planning a trip next winter consider traveling
to Cerre Pelon, seeing a true wonder of the world and helping make sure
that your larger community is able to support the wildlife that ties us
together.
I saved this image for last... It's almost unbelievable if
you've not seen al the others.
[Postnote: The last day in Mexico as I traveled across
Michoacan I was struck by how different this state is from what I
normally think of as Mexico. There were huge, beautiful forests,
voluptuous mountains, lakes, colonial areas as well as poor areas, and
temperate and tropical environments in the same state, a coastline on
the pacific ocean, and lots of color. On the drive I kept seeing places
that I longed to explore, and I found myself thinking about a walk or a
bike ride across the state. This is considered by some as the most
beautiful part of Mexico, and yet I know so little about it.
When my oldest girl was in high school she was part of an exchange
program between Michigan and Shiga, Japan. I kept thinking about
something similar with Michoacan. I know that it is too late to do
anything this school year, but I'm wondering if there is anyone out
there that would be interested in doing some type of an exchange with
classrooms and people in Michoacan? If I was able to put you in contact
with a classroom in Michoacan or an individual there, would you be
interested in interacting with them? I think it would be great to have
a partner class or person in another country where you each get to
share culture, learn each other's language, and know a little more
about the larger community. If you are at all interested please send me
email. I know people are now reading these notes in 5 states... this is
a suggestion for everyone reading this, regardless of where they are,
in school or out.]
Charles St. Charles III
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