Recently the Grrrlz and I have managed to get something to grow in the actual garden, as opposed to the pots on the back porch under the washing line.
We scattered a mixed pack of herbs and the parsley and fennel seem to be putting up a good fight, with one borage plant thriving.
Most importantly Pa doesn't seem to have noticed and so the snail bait remains safely in the shed.
This week T1 spotted some caterpillars on our raggedy herbs.
The three of us trooped out to take a look.
Not so much because I care about sharing my herbs with a few worms.
Rather, because I would go to extreme lengths to keep the arsenal of poisons locked away.
And indeed there they were. Big fat juicy guys chomping away.
As is my way I took a seat on the lawn to carefully consider how best to handle the situation. One wouldn't want to kill the gorgeous creatures personally (not after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar), yet one wouldn't want pesticides to be used by other family members. However, I really did want the parsley to go to seed. Ho hum... I had just settled in for a delicious dilemma when T2 started to display signs of great excitement.Pulling myself out of my blissful deliberations I realised that the poor ignorant caterpillars had been identified as, wait for it... pets!
Last year T2 and her playgroup teacher had made caterpillar houses and she had been devastated at not being able to find any caterpillars to bring home as pets. Nonetheless she had carefully kept the house, firm in the belief that 'if you book them they will come' or something to that effect.
And so the caterpillars were lovingly removed and rehoused in the caterpillar house.
The novelty wore off pretty much as soon as T2 realised that they really and truly were not going to do anything of interest even when she poked them...
By the next morning they were gone, possibly shrivelled up somewhere. But I like to think that they hotfooted it back to the garden to warn all their friends and relations of the horrors of domestication. Hopefully that will be the end of the infestation.
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