She has always lived in Oklahoma, growing up in Oklahoma City and moving to Tulsa in 1973. She has raised Monarchs for 35 years, starting with a mysterious caterpillar she and her two small children found on a vine growing on a backyard fence. The larva was brought in, fed and kept in a canning jar while all anxiously awaited to see what it would become. She would later learn the name of the vine, Honeyvine, or Cynanchum laeve, a local host for Monarchs, that grows in wild abundance in Northeastern Oklahoma. That backyard vine was visited every year. More Monarch caterpillars were raised, and were eventually brought into the classroom and then shared with other classrooms. She discovered other caterpillars on other plants and brought them in to raise. To date, she has raised 30+ species of butterflies and moths, and has documented the lifecycles with photos that can be found at pbase.com/bfmom.