Nine-year-old Eva has loved insects and other creepy-crawlies since she was a toddler in England. She made elaborate snail houses and playscapes for the many snails she imported into our garden, and their progeny. She fed them old lettuce, and sometimes fresh lettuce, if I wasn’t watching.
When my husband turned the vegetable garden, she rescued the unearthed earthworms and made them comfortable in shelters festooned with flowers. She cared for fallen bees and wasps, too. During that time, I crocheted her a toy bee. She loves it still, even though it isn’t very good.
This time of year, the Texan wasps gather food for their young. They sting other small creatures, which immobilizes them, but doesn’t kill them. Voila!—Fresh food for the wasp babies. Sometimes the wasps sting big old spiders, but they can’t lift the spiders to their nests. Poor spiders. They’re alive, but they can’t move.
Eva found two stung wolf spiders, and ensconced them in this beautiful, portable, paper home. They will live out their unmoving lives on the comfort of a folded tissue, enjoying the colorful interior decoration.
In other news, the sleeves of my KnitRedKAL cardigan are finished! The ends are darned in! I am working on the button bands! The end is in sight.