Tiny dill plants, scarcely able to support the weight of the caterpillars, are now digested and all but gone, long before the caterpillars are ready to embark upon their chrysalis phase. These beautiful, perfectly constructed little munching machines have eaten themselves, quite literally, out of house and home.
So here they are, wandering dill-less on the driveway, easy prey to careless feet. I am baby-sitting bugs, worried that they'll dry up on the driveway enroute to their next known-only-to-them destination, or fall into a crack and be unable to climb out, or starve to death, or become cat toys.
Or bird snacks.
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| VII of Crows (Pentacles) Badgers Forest Tarot |
Every hour or so I go out to check on them. Where are they? I'm missing one; uh-oh, am I standing on it? Sweat breaks out...no, there it is. Nudge this one a little closer to the tiny bit of remaining dill.
Should I buy dill plants at the garden centre? Let nature take its course? Survival of the fittest and all that?
Does nature make mistakes? I have no clue how these little creatures find my driveway dill in the first place; it's hard to judge what might be a mistake one year, superb planning or dumb luck another.
When life throws out challenges, sometimes you just have to go out on a limb.
Is that foolish? Could be.
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| Badgers Forest Tarot |
Is life a gamble? You betcha.
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| Badgers Forest Tarot |
Will any of my troupe of five make it to the swallowtail butterfly stage? I hope they all do!
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| VI of Foxes (Cups) Badgers Forest Tarot |
If you'd like to see more about the feistiness of these caterpillars, check this out.
