STICKS

and stones may break my bones and words may indeed hurt me, but also sticks (walking sticks that is) do eventually multiply and their eggs, albeit small, are detectable.  See below, which I believe is a tiny egg formerly attached to the final emerging leg of a baby stick bug:

small yet significant blessing to note: my accidentally clean fingernail  :)

LIZARDS

are not all that scary when they are small  and a bit frightening (and a lot fascinating) when they are large

and ready to be re-released (Tobi caught this lovely guy one day prior to this shot) into the wild.  As you may imagine, "Jaws" scrambled rapidly into our neighbors' bushes and I sighed with relief that I would now not need to catch fresh food for two captive lizards.  The following day we let "Lizzy" (pictured above on rock) go as well.  She was not as quick to leap onto her freedom rock...preferring instead to explore the dirt a bit, as if she were incredulous that we were actually granting her immunity (from our arrogant capture) from the crime of being an interesting, educational reptile.  I emitted the second sigh--relieved that Tobias and Kassedi were supportive of our catch and release policy, and doubly relieved that I could stop catching small spiders and other insects, and get back other pressing stay-at-home-mom-pleasures.

MEANWHILE

We have "house guests": actually that's not quite accurate, we have soulmates staying with us, and here is a picture of one of them:  my son's best friend, Rachel

Toodles for Now...

I so want to write more now...I had an evening filled with lovely revelations about life's priorities and other lofty matters, and yet the kids are clamoring for my attention, and (as you know) that is the most important thing I can do at this moment.  So...goodbye for now my invisible cyber-friends.  :)

Returning from my habitual Saturday morning workout I was greeted with, "Well, I have good news and bad news."

"Who died?" I responded to mein Eheman-my German/American husband--referring to our recently captured creatures:  Nibbles, Chomper, and the other unnamed small tobacco worm caterpillars; Lizzie the baby Lizard; our seven Walking Sticks and our remaining three cats. 

"I'm sorry Baby," my husband said, "the birds are eating your caterpillars."   (THE BAD NEWS)

"That's great!" I responded with not the slightest hint of impending tears over the loss.

You see, I have been thoroughly enjoying the chartreuse creatures who love to eat my tomato plants.  They're so ugly they're gorgeous, and their rapacious appetite for our tomato leaves exceeds even my own voracity.  And I love the way they grip the leaf they are eating; wordlessly letting the world know that no creature, human or otherwise, will be sharing their food.  See how much we have in common?  So it should come as no surprise that we eventually gave the green chompers their own tomato plant to munch.  Each time we found a new friend, we transferred the little (or big) guy to it's new home--equally green--equally delicious. 

The problem was that word must have gotten out, because I was finding 1-3 new caterpillars daily and was having trouble finding time to brush my pegs, do laundry, feed the lizard, etc. due to the difficulty I was having in locating these camouflaged cats.  And the reason I couldn't just squish them?  God's creations?  Sure, but that makes me a hypocrite since I daily, easily and willingly swat and kill flies in my kitchen.  I'll just admit it:  I like bugs, arachnids, reptiles and other multi-legged creepy-crawlies (silverfish and cockroaches excepted).  And the fact that our two youngest children like them too makes eliminating the cute caterpillars impossible.  NOW...if nature takes its course and the birds decide to hunt for food on my kids' tomato plants and on the one that specifically belongs to the "cats"?  My response is, "Thank you Lord for your miraculously crafted world...and for helping me effortlessly show my kids the science of life, the life cycles of our favorite creatures and critters, and for sparing me the time-consuming process of daily tobacco worm-watch".

(THE GOOD NEWS)

Tobi had bravely captured a large lizard (or possibly even a skink) while searching for small crickets to feed Lizzie the lizard.  Indeed good news (but I must admit that feeding such a large lizard, as well as creating a large comfortable habitat for her, was going to add to my already over-full creature-feeding-schedule).  So you see...the "bad news" was actually the good news and the "good news" was, well, good news too.  After all, creature-love does entail caring for them.

Words cannot express...

the joy of seeing her children & grandchildren smiling.

Words CAN express the shawe (shock & awe) of watching a

horn worm munch a leaf faster than Superman dons his costume.

Capturing Tobi's realization that his flashlight's beam

bounced off the glass, captured its own image and gave

it back to him--ultimately in quadruplicate! 

Credit for technically inaccurate description:  mine

Credit for image:  Tobi (who noticed it with glee)

Homeschooling was our focus today (simultaneously and mostly-happily ensuring that the four little ones were well fed, well-watered--it's hot today--and smiling more than frowning).  Lori brought her materials (she's a teacher) and we compared the CA standards to what Tobi has already mastered.  And now I have a (borrowed) box of INCREDIBLE materials from her...and we will get together again to complete my son's IEP soon.  I'm beginning to be more excited than nervous about this incredible Odyssey we have begun. 

And I cannot adequately express my gratitude to an amazing daughter who has carved out space in her over-flowing life and her gigantic heart to help me.  After all, she and her husband are managing dual teaching careers, obtaining dual masters degrees, and dueling two children (humor intended). 

It seemed only fitting that we end the day with barbecued S'Mores...which were far too sticky, far too messy, far too sweet, and far too much fun!

Some people are late bloomers.  And when that happens, their beauty is stunning.  I'm hoping this is the case with our sunflowers--that they can defy my 4-month tardiness and bloom gloriously some time before "winter" comes to California.  I want the kids to see that our efforts today were worth it...that their careful planting (one seed at a time) was successful.  After all, we "brought it in" for ourselves.  "Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?  US!" we shouted, proud that we had at least done what we said we would back in March.  Some people are late bloomers.  Hopefully some sunflowers are as well.

Meanwhile, Nibbles continues to, well, nibble and GROW!

Do you believe in angels?

We've had walking sticks/stick bugs (phasmids) for oh, two years or so, and we love watching them, holding them, spritzing them with water, and feeding them whole bunches of Romaine lettuce at a time.  We started with five or so and one day we had about one hundred!  My daughter wound up with double that amount at her house!  It wasn't too hard to find a few homes for our extras, and we were then left with about seventy creatures of various sizes...from 1/4 inch to about 3 inches, in various hues of brown.  And here's the crazy part:  we grew to love these guys--not just because they are the easiest pets in the world, but also because there is something endearing about a living thing who is satisfied with wood chips, a few chomps of lettuce, and the occasional rainfall (from our spray bottle of course).

We should have started a second habitat with so many sticks (they need room to shed their exoskeletons/molt), but we didn't, and sadly lots of them died off.  As of yesterday, we had TWO left!  And just as I began to think we would need to put this phase of our pet care aside, Tobi (5) discovered a teensy weensy tiny baby walking stick still not able to walk.  And then, I discovered another and another, suddenly increasing the creature count to a whopping FIVE!  There is hope yet for our friends who await baby walkers from us.  Here are a few tidbits, pictures and web sites for you if you have further interest in these great insects:

There are nearly 3,000 species of stick insect (Phasmatodea) in the world. They all feed on vegetation and are one of the most popular forms of insect pets.

Reproduction

Many female phasmids do not need to mate in order to produce fertile eggs. This form of reproduction is called parthenogenesis and all the eggs produced will hatch into females. If the females do mate with a male before producing eggs, the nymphs (babies) may be male or female.

Life-history

In some species males are rarely (or never) seen. The females of these species reproduce parthenogenically. That is, the females lay unfertilized eggs which hatch into females which also lay unfertilized eggs. However, in many species both males and females are present.

Most phasmids lay eggs singly and commonly the eggs resemble seeds. Some species release these and let them fall to the ground where they become hidden amongst the leaf litter. Other species will descend to ground level and, using a blade-like ovipositor, lay single eggs underground. It can take a very long time for the eggs to hatch. In some species this can even be as long as six months to a year.

Phasmids undergo incomplete metamorphosis and the nymphs look like small versions of the adults. The wings, if present, only appear at the final molt.

The average lifespan for stick and leaf insects is twelve months but, in captivity, they can live longer. They make excellent pets and there are caresheets for Stick insects and Leaf insects available on this site.

National Geographic

What's That Bug?

It's not that the one I was sleeping with before was defective--far from it, just that things have changed.  I woke up with a German guy and went to sleep with an American.  Both were wonderful.  I couldn't choose, and so I've decided to sleep with both of them, permanently!  I actually think they have a lot in common, and may even become friends.  We'll see...

United States Citizen as of July 11, 2008

Photograph (pre-Photoshop) by Nolan Adair

"Look how much apple I ate mommy!"

Author:  "Princess"

Illustrator:  "Bug"

Patrick Comes out of the Closet: Kassi's. 

Even umpires need a day at the lake...

Stay tuned for my boogie-boarding video.

Caterpillar Nibbles grew (happily munching tomato leaves in his cage), stuff in the garage shrank (Goodwill here we come-AGAIN!), and Andrea (Official Web-Site of Andrea Bocelli) made me cry like a baby-a sobbing baby.

I don't even try to stop myself anymore, I just let the tears flow...except that at one point I did cover my red eyes with sunglasses so that I wouldn't embarrass my teenager when he got in the car.  And later, when I was talking to my lovely and wise older daughter on the phone about home schooling, I had a piph (completely unrelated to educational matters):  the wordless and intense music of Andrea Bocelli was touching the deepest part of me, the part that sometimes accidentally gets neglected in the busyness of a life with children. 

Not much of an ephiphany, I realize...and yet profound for me since in lives past I've used unhealthier means (ill-timed and ill-chosen relationships mostly) to fulfill these cavernous places within myself.  And in that nether-world I loved the sad sad songs that made me sadder...that touched pain so familiar it was comforting.  How lovely not to need to do that now because of my beautiful and stable (albeit chaotic) life and the constant self-evaluation-cum-self-evolution that began in earnest close to thirty years ago (criminy...it's strange to have things in my life that go back that far).  I can now let Andrea Bocelli and others with powerfully angelic voices stroke my soul AND leave me intact...better even than before.  Fulfilled, satisfied...and ready to parent with better energy than when I was depleted.  So today, a heartfelt thank you to Andrea Bocelli and his beautiful music, to my children--without whom my lifequest would be incomplete, to my friends and family who accept and love me as I am, and to my remarkable husband--without whom my life would still be rocking and reeling like Odysseus' ship as it sailed between Scylla and Charybdis.

On a lighter note, here are a couple of pictures related to our tomato-growing, insect-loving project:

New friend found on a tomato plant (who flew away after the shot, the rascal).  What is she?

An egg from a Hawk Moth??  Or is it really just a hand?

Is this the beginning (or ending) of a coccoon?  Close up it appears to be a wasp...

Bear with me, I'm new to gardening.  When my youngest planted their first tomatoes, I began to ask questions of my gardening friends, which then led to looking up tomato and tobacco worms on the Internet.  We are an insect-loving family (for the most part), which is why today was a big day.  While watering and counting the tomatoes growing on each of our two potted plants, I discovered a lovely green guy (tobacco horn worm/manduca sexta) about 2+ centimeters (about an inch) long happily munching on a small tomato (pic below).  I confess that I thought it was a tomato worm and had forgotten about the tobacco worm until I inadvertently re-discovered him online.  Alas, the tomato worm would have had 8 v-shaped "stripes" along its body, while our Nibbles has 7 distinct white stripes, along with a red horn on his fanny, not a green one.

I don't need to tell you how fast the kiddos ran out of the house, screeching happily, to see our new friend.  We watched our slow-moving muncher and then fairly patiently unloosed its sticky prolegs and put Nibbles into a temporary home (bug box) with the rest of the tomato he was eating as well as some leaves. 

Now we will be raising tomatoes to eat and cute ferociously hungry caterpillars to watch metamorphose.  Worst case scenario, the caterpillars will eat the tomatoes and we will metamorphose into ferociously hungry tomato-craving humans.

Toodles

p.s - Ignorance would have allowed me to think of a tomato "worm" as just that: a worm, except that my astute five-year-old pointed out rather matter-of-factly that Nibbles is a caterpillar (diagram below) because worms have no legs; prolegs or otherwise.  Perhaps it is now obvious why he will be homeschooling me in the fall...