There's been a metamorphosis in the family room. A few months ago, as we were sitting by the wood stove, I noticed something creepy-crawling across a log. I don't mind creepy crawlies, in their own habitat, but when they come visiting me, in my habitat, I can get a little anxious, depending of course, on what kind of creepy crawly we're talking about. Ahem. There was a wolf spider spotting on the outside wood pile a few months ago, so I often find myself looking out of the corner of my eye at the inside wood pile to see if anything is, well, creepy crawling. So on that evening, I jumped up, turned on the light to see just what was creepy crawling across the log. I was relived to find that it was just a woolly bear caterpillar.
I scooped the little bugger up in a mason jar, saving him from a fiery death, as his log was the next in line for the stove. I forgot about him for a few days, then one rainy afternoon I ran outside to pull up a few pieces of grass for him to munch on. Another week or two went by and the grass went uneaten. I feared that our little friend wasn't all that stoked with his new mason jar dwelling, but it was wet and snowy and cold outside, and I figured he might not be too stoked about that either since his former home had been burned to ash. I checked on him daily, noting his new positions on the piece of bark in the jar, and while I hoped we might see a few of his tricks, I wasn't that convinced we would.
Fast forward two weeks...
One morning while I was sipping my latte, I leaned over to say hello to our little caterpillar on the window seal, and was pleasantly surprised to find that overnight he'd made himself a little cocoon. My first thought was one of relief that I hadn't killed him.
I looked up the life cycle of the woolly bear, from caterpillar to moth, and began the countdown to when we'd next see our little friend.
Fast forward about two weeks...
As is typical, I checked on the cocoon over my morning coffee and it was still intact. A few hours later something about the jar caught my eye, and after a closer inspection, I realized our friend was back! And was now sporting a brand new pair of wings!
After an hour or two of drying his wings, he turned them down in the more moth-like fashion. I'd read that he (she?) would only have a few days to find a mate, and do the deed before his life cycle came to an end. The thing is, he emerged on the day of that ice storm a few weeks back, and as much as I wanted to release him right away, I waited until the following day when the sun came out and the ice melted.
I sure hope he found his girl.
And now, I'm daydreaming of another metamorphosis in the family room...
Sorry, I didn't clean for you.
I've decided it. One day, this room will get painted. There are the dark-wood-paneling purists out there that will scream "Nooo!" at the idea of covering up this cedar. But, after living with this dark wood for the last several months, I must say that I miss my wall colors. We spend most of our inside time in this room and I need to love it.
When we decided to buy this house, it was not at all what we came looking for. We came for a cute little farm house, and ended up with a late seventies mountain home. We fell in love with the land and the potential of the house, but the reality is that this house is not my (our) personality, and it still feels like I'm living in someone else's house.
I think some white primer and pastel walls will be just the ticket. What do you think?
