In just one season, Kathleen Scott’s native passion vine fed generations of Gulf fritillary caterpillars to populate her garden with stunning adults. The passion vine will grow new leaves in spring. Part travelogue, part adventure, it is 100% a love letter to nature. She somehow manages to convey the heartbreak and the hope that comes with being an advocate for wildlife in our precarious world.

Did you know that monarch butterflies leaving Mexico in March are not the same ones that return in fall, or even the ones that we’ll see in our gardens and around town? Last October, when I spotted this one on Salvia farinacea ‘Henry Duelberg’, fueling up for the next leg, I wondered where it started its life cycle. The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration-a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts. Along the way, she trusted her instincts, relied on the kindness of others, and followed the science. Challenges occurred yet Dykman persisted with determination and a strong sense of purpose. Millions of monarch butterflies… Millions- clinging to the trees like shelved books waiting to be read; their stories of adventure painted on their wings.” While I appreciated her raw emotions in her story as they related to animal deaths or habitat, there was also a tone of hatred and condescension that really bothered me. Some excerpts talked as though cars are horrible things or the drivers are heartless because an animal is accidentally killed. Sie describes not being able to forgive those who destroyed pollinator habitat, even though she was describing farmers and general civilians who likely just didn't know.

Fortified by having made my first blunder, and on my way to solving it, I felt another rush of freedom. Mistakes are less scary once you have made a few. It was clear, however, as the clouds blushed with the first sign of setting sun, that I was not going to completely solve my wrong turn that day. I would need to camp, and that was fine by me. Nothing solves problems like escaping into a tent. In the morning, fresh from sleep, I could trace a new route north. You don’t need to be a cyclist or a field biologist to enjoy reading Bicycling with Butterflies. All you need is the interest in learning about another human being, a humanist, and her hero-journey, for it is exactly that. Ms. Dykman’s quest to learn more about this very special butterfly is bound with her own very special search for self-knowledge and a desire to understand life, philosophically, interpersonally and ecologically. These intertwining perspectives enrich the narrative so much—and make her story so very special. The horse and man walked ten feet from me, on a faint trail I hadn’t noticed before. He was likely commuting between his fields and his house and would never have guessed that a woman from another country had stopped to sleep in his neighborhood. I wasn’t sure if he had spotted me, but I was sure I didn’t want to startle him.

Featured Reviews

Climate change and habitat loss have left their mark. While monarchs have found homes across the globe and are at a low risk of extinction, their numbers are falling.

Oceans are powerful affecters. They create climate, act as thermal reservoirs to stabilize day and night temperatures, and redistribute heat by way of currents for a hospitable balance between the equator and the poles. As greenhouse gases build in our atmosphere, they trap more and more of the sun’s heat. The planet warms, and the oceans absorb this warmth. As the Pacific Ocean heats up, evaporation increases, causing brewing storms to carry more and more moisture. Monarchs, which have evolved to survive the dry season in Mexico, are finding the dry season no longer exists. The monarchs are now drenched every few years in catastrophic winter storms. Adding insult to injury, the forest canopy is now less intact and can no longer offer reliable shelter."The author was the first person to bicycle the entire monarch migration loop (and then some) – 10,201 miles and three countries. One of the main goals for the trip was to serve as a spokesperson for monarch butterflies and conservation truth teller. The journey was also a baring witness, in a new and intimate way, to the destruction of the habitats on which the monarchs’ survival, and ultimately, the survival of human life, depends. I enjoyed this book. I was drawn to it because I enjoy cycling, but I can’t fathom such a long bike tour. I wanted to see what that would be like. Dykman is obviously very passionate about conservation. I liked reading about how the book combines her passions with the practical matters of a long bike tour and scientific information. She does an excellent job presenting science and conservation information in an engaging way. Avoiding the coldest, wettest conditions is of the utmost importance for monarchs, as their nightmare scenario occurs when the two conditions overlap. Cold, dry monarchs at least stand a chance. Cold, wet monarchs are in real danger. Monarchs get wet when they are exposed to precipitation or dew. Clustering monarchs in a healthy forest are protected from storms, but as trees are removed, monarchs are left exposed."