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Monarchs are … magic!

By LIZ NERONI, naturalist
I never truly believed in magic, but the closer I get to nature, the more I do. In fact, something magical is happening right now in nearby backyard gardens and prairies. Regardless of how many times I have seen it, magic is the only way to describe the experience. I’m in awe, and I observe that same glow reflected in the eyes of everyone lucky enough to witness it.

When everything from beginning to end seems unrealistic, we doubt. When we don’t understand something that can’t be fully explained, belief falters. When something the size of the period at the end of this sentence transforms into something that weighs less than a dime, but can travel thousands of miles, you start to wonder—it must be fake, right? No- this is the life of a monarch butterfly. You can say it’s science, and that it’s biology at work. Yet, the feeling you get when you see a caterpillar change its body completely to become a butterfly, isn’t that simple. It’s breathtakingly mysterious and beautiful. When you hold a butterfly in your hand, after watching it go through complete metamorphosis, knowing it will be making an incredible journey to a place it has never been, you realize it is nothing less than magic.

Come to Deer Haven Park on September 23 and 24 for Monarch Magic Weekend. Stop by anytime between 12:00- 5:00 pm and you will be able to see the magic for yourself. We will be catching, tagging and releasing monarch butterflies, conditions permitting, both days at 2:00 pm. If you can’t make it and want to learn more please visit www.MonarchWatch.org 

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