Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Jabba the Worm

Sometime in July I went out to check on my grapevines.  I noticed one branch of one vine had a lot of missing stuff.  Upon closer inspection I found a big fat green worm.
At first I thought it was just a tomato worm.  Seemed rather strange to find a tomato worm on the grapevines but this is Missouri, things are crazy out here!
I took a stick and tried to coax the fat worm from the vine.
The little beast reared back and started spitting acid everywhere.
Whoa.
I told you things in Missouri are crazy!
Rabbid tomato worm!
I got a second stick and began trying to pry the monster from the grape vine.
The bugger had a grip on the vine like nothing else.  He was not going to budge. 
 He kept striking at the sticks and spitting acid all over the place.
No more Mr. Niceguy from me-- I got tough with him and pulled him off the vine.
After all of that he decided he would like to hold on to the stick then.
He must be a teenager worm.
Jabba was brought up to the house and put into a jar to live next to Heimlich.
After a few days of eating every leaf we could stuff in the jar with him, Jabba got very still and started turning red.  We were a little worried about him.  Twice I thought he must be dead so I took him outside and dumped him out of the jar but then he'd start moving again so I'd put him back in the jar with some food. 
(hey, before you lecture me on torturing the poor creature, 
you spend some time with a fat, nasty, green worm spitting acid at you 
and then tell me you wouldn't do the same!)
Within the week, Jabba had made a dark-colored cocoon at the bottom of the jar.
The kids and I are now making bets on which of the worms will hatch first.





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