It Spiked Me! -- Big E

 Caterpillar that spiked me. It hurt.
 











Building a caterpillar home for our new temporary pet
 












Don't eat my kittens! Our resident golden eagles were making their rounds right over our house. I made sure no kittens were dinner by offering them my arm. Of course, they didn't eat it. But they didn't eat my kitties either.
 








Me, being very, very brave and petting the bull snake that Papa caught.

I'm mad at my mom. She made fun of me about being scared to hold a caterpillar. What she has failed to understand is this caterpillar has spikes!!! Just look at the picture and you can see for yourself. My papa was very unsympathetic. No one comforted me when it hurt. I need my Dad. He's from the city. He understands that not all people can pick up bull snakes, drive a backhoe, spot deer 2 miles away on the hillside, or a coyote that blends in for that matter...yes, my dad just gets me when I'm in the country.

Don't misunderstand me. I want to live in the country. I cry every year when I have to leave to go back home. It is not my fault that my parents make me live in a city of a half of million people. I'm so country deprived that when I was five, I asked my mom if the deer were real that were in people's yard. My mom laughed at me then and said, "yes, they are real. What else could they be?" I reminded her of the deer with lights. You know, the ones that are up at Christmas. She laughed even harder. (Are you seeing a pattern here? lack of empathy!)

But I digress. I mastered some fear this week by petting a bull snake that I told my Grandpa he needed to go get. Of course, Grandpa wants me to get the full country experience why I'm here. (He feels sorry for me, too that I have to live in the city.) So he went down the hill to find the bullsnake for Lil' E and me. He's the best.

Doing things for others, reminds me that my Dad, this summer is going to get my Mom an iphone. He is giving her his old one with a cracked face and he's going to buy the new model. He tells me this is great for Mommy! I just can't figure out why Mommy would get the cracked one, when he dropped and broke it and he gets a new one. I'm still working on how that is a gift. It seems like it would be like me giving Lil' E my stuffed animal with the stuffing coming out of it and keeping the two brand new ones I got. I guess this type of gift giving happens when you've been married for thirteen years. I can tell I've got a lot to learn.

I'm off to sleep because I have pottery class in the morning. I'll show pictures soon.

Big E