October 22, 2012
Dear Friends:
The raining season is totally over now in our region. Mornings and nights have been warm so far, but they will cool down drastically in the coming days. This indeed is the typical bright-sunny sky in which we welcome the Monarchs every season.
Jocelyn, Roberto and I have continued our search for Monarchs as we've been doing during these weeks. As of this afternoon, no butterfly appeared in the sky or through the forest. However, we are absolutely certain the Monarchs are silently creeping towards us! They will appear any day now!
After a good walk, both children filled in the graph in excitement knowing these might be our last "zero monarchs" records in the chart. We expect to give you the big news anytime within this week!!!
Back we walked to Jocelyn and Roberto's home. They were starving! Their Mom and Grandma were waiting for them in the kitchen where the wooden-fire stove kept them warm. Several pots of delicious food were on the table. They had cooked "Chilacayote" (a nahuatl-origin word for a very tasty vegetable we love, similarly cooked to zuccini. Another pot had deliciously fried-mashed beans. Hand-made corn tortillas were also served. A banana and a glass of pure-spring water (brought by Dad from up into the forest), made a delicious dinner today for the family. Dad should arrive much later.
After their meal, Jocelyn and Roberto enjoyed playing for the rest of the sunny afternoon. They also helped will some small household tasks. *Since Jocelyn is very young in age, she only runs small errands for Mom here and there in the house, but for Roberto, being older now, it is an obligation at a certain time every afternoon, to change clothes and shoes (for working garments), and help Dad to feed cattle and get it to its resting place. Soon the sun crept to set-down, the sign that it was time to do homework and prepare for bed.
Being in front of a computer or watching a variety of TV programs is not part of Jocelyn and Roberto's life, nor is it for any child in our surrounding communities. Satellite signals for both of these services is still not available for our community people, not wished, and perhaps not easy to be afforded. Their School education does not include nor demanding these yet either. When they reach the last year of elementary school (6th. grade) a brief introduction to the world of computers will be given to them.
The life of Jocelyn and Roberto, narrated to you during these weekly reports reflects, dear friends, the free, relaxed and full of fantasy life of any of our happy children from the communities surrounding the Monarch Sanctuaries in our region.
Through Jocelyn and Roberto, all of you are welcome to the homeland of Monarchs in México!!!
Your local reporter,
Estela Romero
Angangueo, Michoacán, México
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| Angangueo Near the two largest monarch sanctuaries. |
Monarch Wintering Sites The region in central México where monarchs overwinter. |
