Recently a bookstore in Sylva, North Carolina called and asked me to send them copies of my monarch butterfly guide.  You can see something about the guide in my earlier posts.  I ordered the books to be sent directly from Amazon, and asked only that I be reimbursed for the cost and shipping.  Below is an insert from me I asked the store to put in each copy.

Fall 2023

Dear Friend,

I released the most recent edition of my monarch migration guide a couple years ago.  The plan was to update it every other year or so.  As you might tell, I did everything in the book myself, from writing and photography to layout and publishing.  As it happens, I’m busy with many things and couldn’t keep up with updating it as much as needed.  Maybe next year….

Anyway, when City Lights Books asked me to send them books for this fall I was delighted with their interest, but wanted to include an insert, this insert.

Because the book is a guide, I wanted up-to-date information.  Some of the material now is out of date.  But much of it—the photographs, the monarch life cycle details, and the better locations for viewing the monarch migration around here are all still good.  One of the hiking trails shared, Naked Falls, I would no longer recommend because it is now overused.  One of the retail sources for milkweed plants, Mellie Mac’s, is no longer in business. Some of the educational events are different now.  There are other things, like recent overwintering counts in Mexico, so look online for what’s current.

The book was a detailed snapshot from the past, still of some value, I hope.  I’m not making anything from it, I just offer it as a gift of my time.

The chaoticterrain.com website no longer exists.  I do keep up somewhat with chaoticterrainpress.blogspot.com, which covers my writing and projects. You can reach me at anaktuvuk@earthlink.net.

Perhaps I will see you up on the Blue Ridge Parkway this fall.  If you observe anyone looking up, scanning the sky, and especially if there are monarchs about, speak to them.  If it’s not me, it’s likely another person who is fascinated with this amazing creature.

Lastly, I will share something beautiful.  It might appear unconnected except nominally, but beauty in whatever form is universal.  Listen to the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, performed by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra with Josh Bell as the violinist.  The piece is based on a Chinese folk tale.

-Mickey Hunt