Time is expanding, contracting, and even constricting. Our little students love the song about being eaten by a boa constrictor. Days are hot and patience is low. Trying not to feed any kiddies to the boa!
Nature is getting more and more Tarantino around here. I watched three squirrels play soccer in the street with a bright yellow horse apple. The victor tried to haul the ball up a tree.
Why can I remember Tom and Cam slumped and sweaty in those Greco-Roman history classroom desks, but can't dredge up an answer to Will Shortz's crossword clue for "Some gym wear"? And why do I dream of rolling sets of silverware in paper napkins in the hospital kitchen?
For days now I've been watching two Giant Swallowtail caterpillars devour the leaves of my small key lime tree. When I got home today at four, one caterpillar was struggling in the dirt under the tree. Of course I rescued it and returned it to the lime leaves, not just once, but three times. Each time it rolled right off and dropped to the dirt. Then the caterpillar started a writhing belly-dance of agony and/or delight.
When I give my heart and hopes to a caterpillar we are both doomed. Caterpillars are stung and devoured by Texas fire ants. Caterpillars are devoured by a praying mantis that looks like F. Murray Abraham. Caterpillars devour dill but fail to thrive on a long drive.
This time the caterpillar seemed to lack a zipper to shed its too-small skin. In You-Tube videos caterpillars make this costume change in less than a minute. I watched my caterpillar's efforts for over two hours in the hundred degree heat. Imagine trying to remove sweaty pantyhose while sitting in your car that's been parked in the sun all day without drawing unwanted attention from passersby. Imagine trying to shed your skin without signaling hungry birds or lizards. Imagine "S P A N D E X" pops to mind for the gym wear.
© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder
2 comments:
The heat is affecting each and every living thing. We, as a species, seem to have done this to ourselves, but it doesn't make that ay easier. I would rip those pantyhose off with a Swiss Army knife if necessary.
any...Oy!
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