Crickets...

I really hate crickets, and when I told this to Mark one time, he only replied sweetly with..."Well, didn't you like Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio?" to which my reply was, if I ever see a cricket wearing a top hat, carrying a cane, and singing - than maybe I would be OK with that! When I married Mark, I knew that I was in for quite the experience. Not only was I now married to someone serving in the military, but this wonderful man that I love so dearly, has a love for ALL God's creatures. When I say all...I mean ALL. Since we have been married, we have housed tarantulas, a king scorpion, at one point or another 10 snakes, (all of which were in cages. However, that didn't mean one or two haven't escaped at one point or another!) That is not even including the food we have housed for them. Rats, mice, gerbils, crickets...ugh! But, all this has been very educational and I have a new view of our awesome Creator. How perfectly every creature is made. I tend to lean more towards the normal pets, I have a very poofy white bunny named Jasper, who thank heavens prefers rabbit pellets and alfalfa to the menu our other carnivorous friends enjoy. Mollie, my fun loving miniature dachshund, snacks on kibbles and sweetly bats her eyes at dinner guests hoping for some handouts. Our latest addition? Fish. We have lots of fish. Beautiful koi, and a variety of goldfish. What a privilege to be able to observe all of these creatures God has created so closely! I have been learning so much about them, and how delicate they really are. They are beautiful, but if the water conditions are not just right, they can't survive. Another amazing creation! This summer, we adopted a leopard gecko. During the summer the geckos would try and drink from the pool and then fall in and drown. We felt so bad for them, that when Mark found a 2 1/2 inch long gecko and some gecko eggs, they were promptly put in their own cage. The gecko, we dubbed "Leo" and thought he was quite cute. I never thought the tiny white eggs would hatch, but they did, and we had three baby geckos! We eventually let them go because we had a hard time finding crickets small enough for them to eat. Here is what we would do to find crickets...try and imagine this... Its too hot during the summer days for the crickets to come out, so as soon as the sun would go down Mark would flood the ground next to the porch with the garden hose. Then with me holding a flashlight I would try and follow these tiny pin head crickets as they jumped onto the cement to avoid drowning. While Mark would try and run around and catch the crickets with his hands. Now, I HATE crickets. They freak me out and so I would be jumping around scared to death one would jump on me, with Mark shouting "There's one! The light! Shine the light on it! Don't move!". As you can imagine it wasn't working very well and Mark did some research and went to plan B, which I disliked just as much as plan A.....breeding crickets. Now, he assured me that they would be living outside and set up a breeding ground in a 10 gallon aquarium. After their "home" was ready, I only had to help him find a male and female crickets. Which involved Mark picking up every cricket he found and determining the sex. HA! Then the colder weather came...and into the house they moved. I wouldn't stand to have the cage in the kitchen, so they were permanently moved and settled in his office. The only challenge left has been making sure they have water. This has challenged my sanity! I dread opening the cage lid, and moving aside the water sponges to make sure none of Mark's "cricket friends" drown when I refill the water dish. So here is how the scenario usually goes....I open the lid, take a deep breath and hoping that there are no crickets near, stick a spoon carefully down into the water bowl and then scream and shriek when crickets come jumping out! Just thinking about it now gives me the creepy crawlies! At the end of summer Mark found another gecko that needed a winter home, and it went into the cage with the cricket friends. Call it population control. Only problem: it keeps escaping! Heaven only knows where Leo the III is at this moment! Never a dull moment!