Maureen Dime’s magical garden in Del Mar has become a welcome spot for hundreds of monarch butterflies. Over the last 13 years, so many butterflies have flourished and fluttered in her front yard that she started calling her home the Butterfly Beach Ranch. This spring and summer, she has never seen so many caterpillars—one day this June, she counted 38 monarch chrysalides at one time, all hanging on her front porch. “It’s just been so much fun,” Dime said of the bounty of butterflies. “It’s been a really special season.” Maureen’s late husband Steve “Rock” Dime bought the home in 1993—at nearly 80 years old, it’s one of the original Del Mar bungalows. “It’s 300 steps from the beach, there’s not a better or more beautiful spot,” she said. As her husband had a love of gardening (and motorcycles), they created a garden in front of their home where they were supposed to enjoy their retirement years together. Sadly, Rock died in 2021 at 68 years old after a devastating battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Since his passing, Dime has held fundraisers in his memory to benefit Parkinson’s disease research through the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Her latest this spring raised $57,559, after donating his Harley-Davidson XLCR in his honor to the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. Maureen and Rock first started planting milkweed seeds for the monarchs in 2013, the milkweed plant being the main food source for monarch caterpillars to feast on. “You never know if you’re going to have luck…nature is finicky,” Dime said of that first year. They were fortunate that the milkweed succeeded and that first summer, they had about 30 butterflies—it was wonderful and they were encouraged to keep up the planting. After Rock’s passing, Maureen removed all of the grass in front of her porch, added a fountain in his memory and expanded her garden to include more water-wise succulents, more milkweed and more native pollinators to attract more butterflies. That summer, she welcomed an estimated 60 butterflies. Every year, more and more seem to come with last year topping out at over 200 butterflies born. This year the butterflies have been busy and as she is newly retired, she’s had the luxury to witness the full life cycles of many monarchs. “It’s been incredible to watch,” she said. After the egg hatches, the monarch starts as just tiny caterpillars, growing chunkier as they eat and eat and eat, munching milkweed until only spindly twigs are left on the plant. As this last crop ate so much, she just planted 12 new milkweed plants in the garden. As the caterpillars grow, they shed their skin about five times. She watches as the now orange and black caterpillars inch along, looking for a spot and knows they are about ready to start the transitional pupa stage when they hang, forming the shape of a “J”. She has taken videos on her phone of the fascinating bit of nature, watching a caterpillar wiggle its way into a chrysalis like a sleeping bag: “It’s incredibly cool.” The caterpillars seem to congregate on her shady front porch—finding cozy nooks under the eaves of her roof, all around the frame of her front door, under the railings of the porch, under the patio chairs and bench. Her puppy Poppy is interested when she spots them, but never disturbs them. The monarch chrysalis looks like a bright green droplet, with a sparkling gold at the seam. Dime estimates it takes about 10 days for metamorphosis. The chrysalis starts to darken, and you can see the colorful wings taking shape underneath the translucent surface of the pupa. When the butterfly eventually crawls out, it sits for a few hours, drying its wings, orange and black with white dots that look as though they have been delicately painted on. The butterfly then detaches and starts to walk around, getting a feel for its legs and wings. Dime said they seem to like the slate on her front porch and walkway for this little dance. “It’s truly magical to watch, a beautiful being testing out its new physical strength,” Dime said. “It starts to flap its wings and about five hours later, it takes flight.” “They float everywhere,” she said, noting its not unusual for them to come into the house and find their way back out through the back patio or front door. The butterflies feed on the milkweed and lay their eggs, and the cycle begins all over again. On a recent Friday morning, Dime watched again in amazement as five butterflies were born. One struggled to open its wings and she sweetly held it in her hand. There is something to said for the symbolism of a butterfly, of transformation and hope. For many people, butterflies are a reminder of a loved one who is no longer present. It’s not lost on Dime that shortly after letting go of Rock’s last motorcycle, the butterflies started their return to her garden, in bunches. At the Butterfly Beach Ranch 300 steps from the beach, it’s a small reminder that life is still full of wonder, a bit magical, always beautiful.