Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I need to relax and spend more time with my kids, or maybe not.



I was calmly attending to my ablutions when the door flew open and banged against the bathroom wall.

My youngest daughter rushed in and threw a heap of soil into the hand basin. Needless to say I was quite surprised and not a little annoyed and I can’t say that the situation improved when she turned on the tap and started washing soil away from four very long wiggly worms.


Blithely ignoring my shouts of indignation and threats of retribution she calmly explained that her various creatures’ diets, of shop bought pet foods needed to be supplemented occasionally; and taking a Lumbricus Terrestris in hand she swept out of the room 
leaving three more swimming around, I swear they were laughing at me!

They wouldn’t be laughing long though.


The mini zoologist’s voice floated in from her room,” My aquatic frog swallowed that one whole” she reported gleefully. Returning momentarily she grabbed two more of the ill fated creatures and disappeared. Apparently terrapins are equally greedy for this delicacy, whole worms.



which is a mercy when you consider that the final worm was chopped into bits,so that it wouldn’t choke the fighting fish. 

What?


A day or two passed and I forgot the horror. 

So you can imagine how I felt when a relaxing coffee in the garden was interrupted by gleeful shouts of “27 snails! Get me a bucket”…  






… Yes, quite. Get me one too please.

12 comments:

Akelamalu said...

Our youngest grandson, Nate (4), is fascinated with anything of the creepy crawlie variety and insists on bringing snails into the house everytime he visits. :(

puerileuwaite said...

On second thought, let's not have any kids when we get married.

cathy said...

Blogger Elaine said...

Oh mg god. I'd get her adopted right now! x

June 29, 2010 12:46 PM
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Blogger Elaine said...

That's 'my' Cathy, not 'mg'. (Although mg sounds much better.)

June 29, 2010 12:47 PM
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Blogger cathy said...

I saw the writing on the wall years ago when she dragged me away from all the lovely Barbies in the toy shop and demanded plastic snakes, spiders and dinosaurs:(
Your right Elaine. Mg does sound better.

cathy said...

I can't believe I did that LOL.

cathy said...

Probably for the best pug.

Annah said...

Waaah that snail is SO cute :)

Annah said...

Most importantly than no wine and no internet. NO FOOD. lol. HORRIBLE

val said...

As my hens can't wander round freely since the fox massacre, I have to dig up worms for them. Lovely (bleuch!)

I also have tubs of dried mealworms, which they go potty for,but which contain almost no goodness, and cost me £30 or so a kilo.

Luckily a kilo is a LOT of dried mealworms.

lime said...

oh dear. she and my son might get along famously. i know when he runs inside and gleefully grabs the salt shaker he has found a cache of slugs.

Logophile said...

What?
You didn't feel like breaking into a rousing chorus of
"..the circle of life..."

Oh good.
:p

*Smalls* said...

Oo honey, I comprehensevly agree with you dear!!! I believe that you sound like the kind of human who is VERY responsable!!! :) I no most ádults hate this shananigans and they think it is odd and grusome, but my older brother loves this subject. Well thats all i wanted to say, so thank you for your gracous time!!

Drew said...

omg! thats funny.... I have two turtles so I usually give them regular store food. but when I empty something from our house (which is very rare) i go to a certain spot and flood it....."Turtles," I yell, "Tonight you eat like royalty!" and drop them all in there