Sticky Monkey Flower

Please watch our video:

https://youtu.be/WLOMQSfx1qw

How did the Monkey Flower feel after the Butterfly left?
(gnawed so good)

Hello,
My name is Sona, and this is Journey. We are here in sunny California to share with you our golden, sticky monkey flowers (Mimulus Aurantiacus). There are enormous bouquets blooming all along our path every day. It is exciting to reveal the unusual purpose of this plant. You will be amazed by what it does.
Our purpose is to give you fun and exciting ways to meet friends and influence people. If you get to know each one of the plants and flowers in your community, you can share their stories with people you meet. The more you learn, the more interesting YOU become!
Sticky monkey flower is endangered. That is why the ranger and his friends planted them along this ridge. Someone with a large imagination named this plant. They thought the flower appeared to have a monkey’s laughing face. Look at it closely.
This plant is in the family of snapdragons, foxglove, and paintbrush but unlike these other plants, monkey flowers may be eaten when they are young. Their leaves are edible, too.
The stickiness of the leaves comes from glandular secretions. There is a reason for this plant to be sticky during this season. The buckeye and checkerspot butterflies lay their eggs on the sticky underside of the monkey flower leaves. These larvae feed on the shrub. We all know what happens next. A new checkerspot or buckeye emerges and takes flight.
This part of the story touches my heart. The flower sacrifices its’ life to promote the growth of butterfly. When the insect takes flight, the Monkey flower restores itself. There is a passage from Exodus, in the Bible, that reads: “There is a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest…” Exodus 3: 1-8
There is a time for the Sticky Monkey Flower to be sticky. Don’t you think it is curious that a plant partners with an insect to color the world with butterflies? Unusual species often, “team up,” to produce good things.
Journey, my husky, is a varied species. He is a dog. I am a human. Dogs and humans often partner together for companionship and to restore one another to good health.
During the outbreak of the Covid virus, Journey appeared on my front doorstep. He chewed through ropes to escape. He climbed fences and dug under bushes to be free. You see, Journey was left alone for extended periods of time. Animals need a lot of attention. He had to find companionship.
At the same time, I lost my loved one. I was alone and anxious. I adopted Journey and we are restoring one another to good health. You could say that Journey got sticky for me, and I got sticky for him. We are best of friends.
We are all drawn to someone or something that has, “sticking” power. There is no telling how long any person or animal may be in our lives. If we are left alone, there is a time we must be restored but soon, something wonderful comes into our lives again. We become sticky and attractive again, just like the sticky monkey Flower.
Here are some more fascinating facts about the monkey Flower:
This shrub is native to Oregon, California and Baja, Mexico. Bronze, gold, and ruby red are her most common colors, but they also have a white variety.
Early native Americans, the Coast Miwok, crushed the leaves and placed them on sores and wounds to alleviate pain, fight infection and promote healing. Leaves were soaked in water and used for an eyewash. The saltiness of the plant made it a good substitute for spices in foods. Even the roots were used for medicinal purposes. They were boiled in water. A tea was sipped for indigestion.
This plant attracts hummingbirds and bees. It is sticky for a lot of creatures.
It is edible. Roots, stems, leaves and flowers may be added to foods for a spicy, earthy taste.

Checkerspot!

Buckeye!

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Scriptural Application:

Eccles. 3

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens:

A tme to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and uproot,  a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to laugh and a time to weep, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stories and gather them, a time to embrace and refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to give up, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to speak and a time to be silent, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

What is your time at this very moment? 

Boundaries Application:  Our boundaries are clear to us in every phrase listed above.  Knowing that there is a time for every purpose keeps us from doing too much of one good thing.  All is good.  All has a purpose and all has a time for it to take place.  We cannot laugh all the time.  There is a time for war and peace.  Be at peace, then, knowing there will be times when we are sticky and times when we are not.  Do not force someone to stick to you if they have lost their stickiness.  If you can no longer be sticky for them, let them go.