Heh, not me! Nope, I'm happy as a can be, because today we had soaring temperatures of 65 degrees! Can you believe it? (Of course, later in the week when we get back to our regularly scheduled snowstorm, it's just that much harder to bear).
I'm referring to the most recent members of our family, a brood of hermit crabs.
(Is it accurate to call them a brood? Perhaps a flock? No, that's birds. A peck? Nope, birds again. Drat. What DO you call an infestation of crabs?)
Anyway, the last time my Mum was here, she did the usual grandmotherly thing and got three hermit crabs for my kids as pets.
(I can't resist displaing this picture. I love this picture. It totally pays her back for getting my children crustaceans that can surgically remove unwary appendages.)
So, we started off with three, with the original names of Grouchy (so named by Breanna, because he's a crab - get it?), Mommy's crab, and Beaster. I just love the name Beaster. Very appropriate for a hermit crab the size of a softball.
The kids loved playing with their little pets, but a few times they forgot to put the crabs back in the cage right away, and Beaster and Mommy's Crab escaped. It's amazing how fast those little buggers can move when they've a notion to.
Thankfully, a week later, we found Beaster. Peter was very happy about that. Mommy's Crab was found too late to be resuscitated.
That left Grouchy and Beaster. Both crabs came with us to the Sunny South, but sadly only Beaster made it back alive. Beaster looked a little lonely, so we got him some buddies to play with.
That's Beaster on the right, with Bronco and Teeny. I'll leave it to you to guess which one is which.
For a short while, Bronco was re-named "Bronco Bama". (Perhaps I listen to too much NPR. I heard the kids even singing the NPR theme song the other day!) Sorry Mr. President, no insult intended, I assure you. My children just like chanting your name because it's fun to say. They like chanting things like, "Smock Smock Smock" and "Wada dada bada" too.
I wonder how long this latest bunch of hermit crabs will stick around? Beaster and Bronco made a bid for freedom the other day when the parachuted off the dining room table. They made a rather disconcerting "ponk" sound when they hit the carpet . . .
Some people should just not own pets.
Thanks, Mum.
4 comments:
Hah - sounds like payback time from your mom! Love the new look of your blog -- nice work!
This was the most entertaining reading I've done all day! :) I just love the name, Beaster. I still remember how afraid I was of that booger.
Life is never dull at your house, lol.
We went through the hermit crab phase at my house a long time ago. Complete with custom painted shells as I recall. Didn't last long but it was interesting.
Post a Comment