That awkward moment...

[Rox]

... when you start having live food delivered to your work and everyone now thinks that you have completely lost the plot!

Security was curious to see what I had delivered and I showed them (mealworms). You would have thought it was scorpions the way everyone reacted!

I really don't get what is so creepy about mealworms

[MariusStegmann]

Rox I bet that they now suspect you of eating those worms yourself. The only animal that is worthwhile in the African culture are cows. They must find it difficult to comprehend the effort that we put in our birds. My domestic worker made a comment that I really care about my birds and that it is very strange to her.

[KarenB]

I had the same reaction from my co workers. When they saw the box in the refrigerator, they came unglued. The box was still sealed. You would have thought I'd put anthrax in there.

[Rox]

I really think I should bring a tub of maggots in to work and then see everyone's reaction hahahahaha

[MiaCarter]

Ah ha ha ha! That's hilarious, Rox.

Boy do I ever know that feeling! I can't say I've ever had live food delivered to my work, but I was that creepy chick who was always rescuing injured animals (mostly small birds who flew into the glass building front, an injured rat and once, a stray dog) or relocating spiders and other lovely crawlies to the outdoors.

My favorite line: "Don't touch that thing! You'll get sick! It probably has diseases!"

The reply I wish I'd said: "You probably have diseases, but we're still nice to you.....and it's not like I'm licking it or eating it for lunch."
Te he he.

The responses are always so disproportionately crazy! You're so right - you would think it's anthrax or scorpions or flesh-eating bacteria or something equally harmful.
I hate to break it to them, but they encounter more mealworms/maggots/spiders/other creepy-crawlies running free in everyday life than they realize.
Realistically speaking, your boxed and sealed critters in the fridge should be the least of their worries!

Enjoy the reactions! That's always the best part!

[lovezebs]

Rox
Roxanne and all.

Now I have a container in my fridge, marked : "Bird Food! Don't Open!" The reason it's marked thusly, is because both of my sons, bigger than I am and in their middling twenties, almost had a heart attack when they saw what was in it before I titled it.

I barely managed to catch my container of meal worms, before it went flying through the air, accompanied by a 'brave (?)' manly screech.

Then I had to listen to my 'slightly green around the gills' offspring, pontificating about how this 'bird obsession has gone way out of control. Keeping these THINGS in the fridge, with OUR food!!!' I mean honestly! I've seen these guys eating hotdogs from sidewalk vendors, where the wasps and the green bottle flies play. LOL!!!

I really have to get some maggots, that should creep them out big time.

Oh, Mia, you were not the only one rescuing critters. I'll never forget Grade 8 Science class, where we were to dissect frogs.
I absolutely refused to do it, and lost a bunch of marks. After the class, I begged the Science teacher for the left over frogs, *(which I did get). What can I say, each life saved, right?

~~Elana~

[Rox]

MiaCarter@lovezebs Haha, I've also always been the crazy animal person, both in school and now at work. Even our cleaning staff call me to go into the townships now and then to pick up abandoned dogs and take them to the welfare. But bugs? Uh uh, those are just too weird for everyone!!

Elana, I have decided that most men are complete babies when it comes to bugs and snakes etc. We had a braai at work late last year (a barbeque) and I work in production, a very male dominated environment. We are standing around the fire and along comes a little snake, about the thickness of a pencil and a bit longer. The men all ran away screaming while I picked it up and took it to safety in the bushes - go figure!

But if you want to hear something really gross, my dad used to breed snakes and so we had lots of mice etc ranging from pinkies to rats and yes, some went frozen into the freezer. One day my dear father decides to defrost a mouse in the microwave. Lets just say that things exploded and the microwave was tossed!!!

[MiaCarter]

Rox and lovezebs --- We're the same breed, ladies!

Elana -- Poor frogs! I also refused to dissect frogs, though we were offered an option to do a fetal pig instead. (I know, it sounds worse. But it was actually better as the baby was from a slaughtered pig and they would have otherwise been discarded. So nobody died for the science project.)
I love that you saved them! Go you!

Rox -- Oh goodness -- the mayhem in your microwave!

I love snakes! I can just picture the men scattering and shrieking like girls! Te he he.
I'd love to have a snake, except I couldn't support their food requirements. But if only they ate bugs! That I could do. But not rattieroos or mice.

You're so right on men being babies about bugs!
My husband calls me to tend to relocate them. LOL
We had a friend staying with us and he used to scream like a girl whenever he encountered one. Hilarious!

I had a tarantula for a while and my girlfriends were **such** babies about it.
He was a gorgeous, gentle creature.

Speaking of bugs, I got the coolest little doo-dad for Christmas: a humane bug catcher!
http://www.petacatalog.com/products/Hum ... 584-3.html

I used to have one, but lost it in the move. So happy to have it! Beats my old method of a clear cup and a piece of cardboard. (Trap bug in cup. Gently slide cardboard under cup. Hold it in position and transport outside. Done!)

[lovezebs]

Rox

Oh my good God in heaven...... Haahahaahaa.
Reminds me of a fellow dog walker with a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy ( about 5-6 months old). We used to walk by a creek that supported all sorts of wild life, ducks, muskrats, beavers, minnows, frogs, etc.

Well the one lovely Summer afternoon, as we're walking along the path, all the dogs went rushing down to the water. As there seemed to be too much interest generated by whatever, everybody called their doggies back. All the pups responded, with the exception of Sally (mentioned above). No way , no how was that one coming back.
The owner, becoming somewhat incensed, raised his voice to get puppie's attention, starting to walk in that direction. At this point, we could see, that Sally, had something in her mouth and was shaking it vigorously.

"Sally, come." Called the owner.

No way. Shake , shake....

"Sally, come here." Yelled the frustrated owner.

Shake, shake, shake...

"SALLY, GET YOUR BUTT OVER HEEEEEREEEE!!! Roared the owner.

Sally, finally realizing that she might be in trouble, grabbed whatever she was shaking, and came racing towards her beloved owner at high speed.

All we could see was Sally's owner suddenly raising his arms up and waving them madly in the air. "Noo-oooo!" Came a garbled howl, as Sally colided with her owners knees (and as only large puppies can do) knocked him flat down on his butt, landing on top of him with her treasure.

There was a slight poofprropfff sound, a split second of silence and then all hell broke loose, as the bloated, half rotted corpse of the muskrat exploded all over the place....

Needless to say, I thought I was going to die laughing that day........

Ah, the joys of dog walking......

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

lovezebs -- OH. MY. GOODNESS.
That's a fabulous story!!!!

[Rox]

lovezebs brilliant!!! I can just picture that scene, hahahaha! "Here daddy, I have a gift for you. It only smells slightly funky" Gotta love our dogs and all the crazy and gross things they get into

@MiaCarter one thing I don't handle well is spiders. They must stay outside! But I do appreciate their beauty and the need for them to catch bugs etc. I would love to get a snake again but I agree, feeding them is not a task I enjoy. We need to find vegetarian snakes

[MiaCarter]

lovezebs - Your story reminded me of one of my formerly-stray kitties.

We had one sweetie named Jaime whom we ultimately adopted. But when she was outdoors, she would show her appreciation and affection by bringing me dead animals -- rodents and occasionally birds.
It was awful. She would come running up to me at dinner time and she would chase me around until she could deposit the "gift" on my foot. But that wasn't enough. I was required to "accept" the gift (lest another one of the kitties steal the treasure).
So if I tried to ignore the gift (thinking ignore=un-reinforcing the behavior), Jaime would pick it up and keep bringing it to me until I properly "accepted" the gift -- picking it up and thanking her through gritted teeth, hanging onto the treasure until I could surreptitiously lob it into the field behind my house.

Ugh. She was so delightful about it too. She was so proud and lovey. It was very clearly a wonderful gift....if you're a cat.

Doesn't hold a candle to an exploding muskrat, but ugh. It made me dread dinner time at the ranch!

[lovezebs]

Rox
I'm all for vegeterian snakes!
Is there such a thing? I actually love little lizards, but am not willing to pay the prices that Pet Shops ask for these little guys, that you can get by the dozen back home.

Regarding spiders, I like their artistic talents. I like the fact, that they rid our spaces of surplus bugs, I like Charlott's Web......... but aside from that, I don't like them too close.

I have a niece, who suffers from Arachnaphobia, and just about passes out when she comes across even the tiniest spider. Aside from that, she's a strong, brave woman, but spiders, just have that affect on her.
Her oldest son (12) is dying to get a big hairy tarantula, as a pet. I told him (poor kid) not t hold his breath. Then again, him and his two younger brothers are not allowed any pets at all ( their Dad's rules) . I can't imagine a childhood without pets, it just seems so wrong somehow.

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter

Hi Mia.
Cats love to do that, and it is so so funny.

My Sister in law, is an avid cat lover and has three felines sharing her house. They live on an acerage up in the mountains, so field mice galore.

She used to get presies on her pillow, in her slipper, on the door step......

Oh, did I forget to mention, that this a lady, who will climb up a bare wall when she sees a mouse?

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

lovezebs - Poor kid vying for a tarantula. They're lovely pets. Super easy to care for.
A childhood without pets?! That's no childhood at all!
Goodness, I seriously can't imagine it.

You know, I wonder if there are some smaller snakes who eat insects.
I'd love one of those cute tiny pencil-thin snakes.

I didn't always love spiders. One time, I saw a mysterious spider and decided to research it and I fell in love! It was the close-up spider photos that got me. They're so cute up-close!

Your arachnaphobic friend would probably blanche at the idea that you're never more than 6 feet away from a spider! That's what they say, anyways.