Butterflies in Winter
“A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well–or ill?”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
The annual migration of the Monarch butterfly is fascinating. Each winter Monarchs on the western side of the Rocky Mountains migrate from as far away as Canada to Pacific Grove, Twin Bridges State Park and Pismo Beach along the central coast of California. Year after year they return to the same three areas. Here along the coast they find shelter and food from November to March of each year. A Monarch that winters in coastal California does not live to make the return trip the following winter. Five generations of Monarchs have lived and died during the course of the year. Scientists are unsure how the Monarch navigates to the same place year after year. They speculate that the earth’s magnetic field, the position of the sun or the Monarchs “internal clock” guide their annual migration.
