Snakes and Snails and Bird Wings

I’ve told you before about some of the things my son has done, like tie a tarantula to my steering wheel and stick soap planets to the shower wall.

And then of course there was the big, bad red thing in my kitchen.

Most recently, he’s been into snails and slugs. In fact, he’s had one snail (that he calls a worm) for about three weeks now…
slug cage

In case you can’t read his writing on the outside of the snail house, my son is the proud owner of Phillip Johnny Bob Joe Rex, “awesomest” worm (snail).

He has a real worm too.

And a slug.

And a cute little pot to keep them in…

slug and snail rescue

But none of that is as bad as the bird wing…

Remember the baby birds I told you about, and how they didn’t make it?

The other day, my son came in from playing in the backyard and said, “Mom, something dug up Tibbles.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because look what I found…”

And he held up a plastic bag with a bird wing in it.

bird wing
I tried not to freak out. “Did you touch that with your bare hands?”

He nodded.

“Go wash your hands really good. Right now. And then put that wing back outside.”

“But, Mom,” he hugged the bag, “it’s a keepsake.”

A keepsake? I tried to remember to see things from his perspective. “It won’t last,” I explained. “And, besides, it has germs on it.”

“No it doesn’t,” he said, matter-of-fact.” I already washed it with soap and put hand sanitizer on it.” He proudly held the bag closer for me to see.

And sure enough, that little wing was gooped with sanitizer gel.

But I promise you, that didn’t change my mind.

Because, somehow, keeping a wing in a plastic bag creeps me out a tad more than having snails and worms as pets.

Or finding my daughter’s mouse in the laundry basket.

Or even discovering crickets all over the house. :)

 

Comments

  1. You are one brave momma to allow creepy crawlies to live inside! But, I'd draw the line at a wing too!

  2. I was this kind of child. And in many ways, I still am. No, I don't do worms. But I do notice all the small things a child would. And I used to catch tadpoles and keep them in an aquarium and watch them change to frogs!:)I don't like germs though. Gotta love them kiddos of ours!

  3. Oh my word…a mouse in your laundry basket? That would make me so paranoid!!! I wonder what your son will bring in next??

  4. a tarantula on your steering wheel?! i pray that won't happen to me… lol, no matter how aware i am that boys will be boys :-) happy wednesday!

  5. Thank god my kids aren't into creepy crawlies. I'll take 4,597 soccer balls in the house over one dead bird wing any time!

  6. Eeewwww! LOL I just told hubby about this. Sigh. I have three boys. Not looking forward to the bugs. Or dead bird wings. *grimace*But what a sweet boy. He must've really wanted to keep it since he tried to mkae it as presentable as possible. LOL

  7. Sounds like you have a beautiful soul in this little one! What a sweet personality! We had a similar incident with a guinea pig that we'd buried. Aweful, just aweful. Sounds like you handled it well.

  8. Love the 'awesomest' worm designation! With all that critter collecting, you must keep your heart in tip-top shape, what with the surprise palpitations going on!Love the new layout!Blessings!

  9. ewww! i think i should start praying for little girls right now – i don't think i'm cut out for boys!

  10. Joy

    You must be in a constant state of bracing yourself for whatever's coming next! ;o)

  11. That is too cute! Ok, I'm only saying that because I'm not the one dealing with germ-ridden dead bird wings or worms or slugs. Still, your kids are adorable. Have a great SITS day!

  12. There's something about insects, animals and wildlife that seems to resonate with children. My son LOVES "catching" spiders and following ants…I don't do worms, though. That's where I draw the line!

  13. Oh my. The wing…that's worse than the petrified snake in the baggie in my cabinet. Which reminds me…I need to unload that on someone. Great prank, don't you think? ;)P.S. I'm so glad you didn't let him keep it!!!

  14. interesting story. I think I would die if my son ever tied an tarantula to my steering wheel. I was tormented enough with 2 brothers growing up. Which reminds me of a cute story. One time my little brother tried to carry his fish around with him in his pocket. Didn't work out so well. Thanks for the cute story!

  15. This makes me really nervous for my future! I don't handle little ickies well! A wing would probably make me loose it, lol. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll be back :) Happy WW

  16. I am so glad that I have girls. I wouldn't be handle to handle the frogs and snails and puppy dog tails:-)

  17. OK…you stopped me at the tarantula tied to the steering wheel. Have mercy!!!Praying for you sweet friend,Joy

  18. We have had quite an array of creatures in our home this summer, much to my chagrin!! In my case it was my little girl who was the collector. She has quite the nurturing spirit…and that extends to all, including ones with no legs. https://from-my-life.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-things-small.html(As a sideline, one day this spring, my 2-year-old handled a feather and somehow in the confusion of settling everyone at the table, we forgot to wash his hands. He ended up throwing up later. Not a happy moment for me– or him!)

  19. LOL You are in for it. LOL I'm glad my kids are not into that kin of t hing. Granted they love all things furry.

  20. I have boys too–but they know momma doesn't do well with bugs of ANY KIND! LOL!

  21. W-o-W. You are much more brave than I am. I would have been in tears and trembling with the worm (snail)!

  22. CUTE cute cute story. Sons are the best when it comes to .. well, being a mom of them.cheers :)

  23. Sue

    Do you live in the woods? Oh my… there are lots of little creatures around your place… and I'm not talking about the kids – hee heeDon't blame you one second for the bird's wing though – yuck!

  24. Sue–no, we don't live in the woods at all! You'd think we did, though, huh?

  25. Oh my! Your one boy is more BOY than all four of mine put together! Mine like rocks…but those just come clean in the washer and stonewash our jeans like we are back in High School! I'm pretty sure I'm in for a rude awakening with this next one! You are the perfect mom for all of those adventures!

  26. Yuck! I am with you though! We were coming out of a mtg at church last week to find my 17 year old walking around with a baby mouse in her hands that she caught in the church! She wanted to keep it and I'm freaking out that she's not freaking out and don't get me started about germs!!!

  27. My son's house is filled with bugs, like yours, because my 7-year-old grandson is fascinating with anything that flies or crawls. (We think he may grow up to be an entomologist — he knows the scientific details of hundreds more bugs than I do. For example, we were walking to a local art fair downtown (downtown being three blocks in our 6×8 block town), and I pointed out a butterfly sitting on a hedge to him. "Grandma, that's not just any butterfly," he responded. "It's a painted lady." Well, pardon me! His wish list right now is for a black widow spider — he thinks the red hour glass is beautiful. We do have them, but I don't want to be the one to try to catch it. Still, it is all an improvement over his little scientist father who at the age of 9 nearly burned our house down twice with his fire experiments. (1) The bathroom: he set two candles with the same amount of parafin on fire — one short and fat, one long and lean, to see whether shape affected speed of burning; on that experiment, we lost our bathroom. (2) The roof: I caught him dropping burning objects from the roof. When confronted, he responded, "Newton said that two objects fall at the same regardless of mass, but if one were to be on fire, wouldn't there be thermal uplift, retarding the rate of fall?" Oh, my! We spent the next nine years, throwing out every match we found and conducting daily treasure hunts for matches. Stick with the bugs — they won't destroy your home! ;)Beth

Comments are closed.