Then one day we were working in the office when we heard a strange noise from the living room. We came out to find Mbak (pronounced "Ba") Ati, the woman who cleans three times a week, leaning over a viney plant with an expression of mixed horror and amazement. There were all these little worms jumping out of the pot and springing around on the floor. I mean, they weren't just lying there and wriggling; they were getting up on one end and jumping around like kids in a sack race.
Mbak Ati assured us the worms would decamp if we put the plant out in direct sunlight for a couple of days. We tried it, but they wouldn't budge, so now the viney plant lives on the balcony too.
Then again, Mbak Ati also told me the critters who come into the kitchen at night and nibble on our bananas might be cats ... so I'm beginning to question her authority in matters of flora and fauna.
6 comments:
yes, but can you prove that cats *aren't* breaking into your apartment and nibbling on the bananas in the middle of the night?
True, I can't, and in fact I'd kind of like to believe it's cats. But in some 30 years of cohabitation with felines and bananas, I've never seen one eat the other. I rest my non-case.
good point.
I once knew a cat who ate cantaloupe voraciously. he didnt have to break into apartments to get it though, just into the kitchen trash barrel.
Okay - you can't be telling stories about jumping worms without taking a picture of them jumping! The plant is very nice - but the story is about jumping worms. Are they too small?
Oh man - you are so right. I had a picture of the worms, which is why I wrote this entry in the first place. But I erased it when I brought our camera in for repairs.
I actually brought the plant inside and poked at it for a while to see if more worms would appear, but to no avail.
They're not small. They're maybe half the length of my index finger, and grayish, and skinny.
And yes, Michele, I had a cat who loved canteloupe once - he raided the trash too.
And I think I see where Chad's news instincts come from - you sound just like one of our editors!
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