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Munch Pot 2.1

14 Mar

For two days, I didn’t check on Munch Pot because we had to leave the house early and got home late due to work. Then yesterday morning when I had a little time before leaving for the office, I went looking for the dark hairy creature.

But I couldn’t find it! Oh no… has the same fate struck it like Munch Pot 1.0?

I looked again and to my delight, I saw a green caterpillar instead. Munch Pot has evolved! Awesome!!!

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Munch Pot 2.1

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The Calamansi Lime tree where Munch Pot 2.1 resides

Quickly I went inside for my ruler and took its measurement. A slight increment from my last sighting of it. This is getting exciting. Munch Pot is now at its next stage, hence 2.1. Heheheh…

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Munch Pot 2.0

12 Mar

Our garden is just a wonderful place for the creatures that come visiting. Birds, treating our place as their private kitchen, come daily to feast on the bird seeds put out for them. There’s also squirrels that bound through the hedges happily like their little playground. One of the squirrel, a rascal, will eat official pet number one’s leftover dog food or boldly come into the house and help itself to bananas (if we have this) on the kitchen counter.

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The garden thrives because hubby has the green fingers, not me. I hardly venture out because I stay indoors in my little area to do my carving. Even if I do go out, it’s more at the terrace to do mostly sawing, hammering, cutting or drilling, never beyond the tiled boundary for gardening. So it was a bit of a surprise when I discovered the habanero plant has grown as tall as me! And the chillis are plentiful. I have shared so much of our harvest with friends and family.

The thriving garden also had us discovering a new caterpillar! This time on the Calamansi Lime tree at the side. I wouldn’t have known if hubby didn’t tell me. You could say it’s Munch Pot 2.0.

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This time I decided to take its measurement with a ruler to keep track of its growth. As of now, it’s 2cm long. I hope this little fella will grow well and won’t disappear mysteriously like Munch Pot who used to be at the Calamansi Lime tree in front of the house.

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What to Name Your Caterpillar

22 Feb

The more I researched about caterpillars, the more fascinating it became. I thought about giving my caterpillar a name and would you believe it, there’s such a topic on the internet – What to name your caterpillar! It’s amazing what people talk about out there.

From websites like Reddit, Yahoo and Answers, there’s even a write up on ‘Caterpillar names: the finalists’ on MSNBC.

So what am I naming my caterpillar?

Munch Pot. That’s the name of my caterpillar but sadly, Munch Pot met its untimely demise. I could not find it at its usual spot on the branch yesterday evening when we got home! Noooooo…

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Some leaves are gone, so is Munch Pot!

It could have been discovered by the maid while she was watering the plants and squished it. So I checked with her and she said she didn’t even know Munch Pot existed. Or perhaps a bird came and swoop down on it? Now we will never know. So much for having it as a pet, a short-lived one.

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New Pet?

21 Feb

I seem to have a new ‘pet’! It’s a caterpillar.

The inch long critter currently resides in the potted Calamansi Lime tree flanking the left side to the entrance of the house. Hubby discovered it three days ago as it was gnawing on a leaf. For all we know, it could have been there already given its size and stage of being a caterpillar.

Cute little fella. I should give it a name since I intend to keep it as a pet and chart its growth. Hmm…

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And because I now have a new pet to monitor, I did some research on the internet about caterpillars and found some rather interesting facts.

Apparently, moths can remember their caterpillar days, remembering things they learnt when they were at this stage even after the process of metamorphosis turning their brains and bodies to soup! How smart. So, will my caterpillar turn into a moth or butterfly, smart as it is?

The word ‘caterpillar’ refers to the larval stage of butterflies and moths. The last three days, I cannot see its antennae properly – a tell tale characteristic to know the difference, only time can tell. A butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end whereas a moth’s are feathery or saw-edged.

Left hanging on this, I did some further research and by now, am convinced that my caterpillar belongs to the Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) species. Lime Butterflies tend to favor citrus plants like the Calamansi Lime, so it makes sense finding a Lime Caterpillar amongst the leaves.

We bid our time for the next stage of its transformation.

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Munching away on the leaves

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A Quiet Home

17 Jan

Reality has sunk in and the quietness of home is now louder than ever. It’s not so obvious in the morning when we get ready for work because if M2 was still here, she would still be asleep. It’s the evenings.

The grunt, snort and stubbornness of official pet number one is more prominent, the water spouting within the aquarium is more pronounced and the lack of another person to have a conversation with is so glaring.

Sigh… both of us have to get used to this.

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11.11.11

12 Nov

Sunday was a significant day with the date being 11.11. While there was this HUGE Singles Day online sales with record numbers being achieved globally, it was a significant day for us for a different reason. Our beloved Official Pet number one turned 11, hence 11.11.11.

What a journey it has been for us with Rooney, our English Bulldog, official pet, senior citizen of the house and shortest member of the family.

He may have the grumpiest face, the loudest and most insistent bark on the street, the most stubborn streak surpassing even me, I can go on but we love him all the same!

Happy Birthday and stay healthy, my silly grumpy boy.

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My Silly Dog

25 Sep

Official pet number one, Rooney, is one silly dog. Every time when I am set up at the garden terrace to do my carving, he would be my little vacuum cleaner. I know it’s bad for him but sometimes he gets to the wood shavings much faster than me!

Two weeks ago, over the three-day weekend when I was working on two pieces of Meranti simultaneously, the mess was everywhere on the floor and he just took the liberty to crawl under my workbench and helped himself. One silly dog indeed.

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Hmm…. tit bits! I like….

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Gosh… they taste soooooo good! Ohm nom nom…

 

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New Pets, Part 3

30 Aug

So now we have three Marimo Moss balls – Pete, Kate and Moses, and they live in the mini aquarium which we have relocated from the old spot. Historically, the old spot is not ideal because all the fishes and crayfishes go to pet heaven much earlier than we would have liked. Don’t know why, maybe it’s the air in that spot.

Now the mini aquarium is placed in the corner of living room and three Gnomes are tasked to guard it. It’s an adorable sight.

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See the difference in size the two little ones with the giant!

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New Pets, Part 2

27 Aug

We did the unthinkable. Just when I thought Pete and Kate Moss, our Marimo Moss Ball pets do not seem to be growing, we bought another one! But this time it’s an even bigger one!

The little two which we acquired six months ago, at the end of February this year don’t seem to have grown. Hmm… could it be they are still living in their little glass jar with little space for movement and growth? After all, we have not moved them to the mini aquarium as originally planned.

We do change the water periodically but maybe we should place the jar in the fridge to allow them to literally chill once in a while? Leaving the jar on the dining table with the evening sun beating down at it is not the most ideal situation. But now with a big fella, whom I have named Moses, they can all move into the mini aquarium immediately.

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It’s not a blob but a Moss Ball

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The Gnome’s Home

21 Aug

Over the weekend, I had a really good opportunity to work on the two-piece Meranti block. After sending M2 to school for her activity early in the morning, I came home and set up the carving station. Initially I thought of warming up by carving a Citizen but changed my mind and dived into the Meranti at 8.00am, early by my standards.

Two hours later, I nicked my finger for the third time but it did not deter me. I had my warm green tea in the Thermos, the weather was lovely and although official pet number one was snoring away by my side, the focus was not disturbed by his loud snore.

Another two hours went by and I nicked my finger again! Dang… either the Meranti is too hard or I am not doing it right. I have not nicked myself so many times in one carving. Then again, it’s been a while since I started on a new shape/character, what more on a Meranti.

Eight hours later, the Gnome’s home was done. I was pleased with my efforts but suffered the consequences soon after, not just with the four cuts on my index finger.

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The third and fourth cut. Ouch

The right tennis elbow flared up and the left hand was sore at the thumb and wrist. The left index finger throbbed from the fourth cut and the strangest thing, the fingers of my right hand tingled at the tips, a sensation I’ve never experienced before. It became more pronounced when I typed on the phone. And this sensation lasted six hours passed the carving.

Have I pushed myself too far this time? Then I looked at my end result, the Gnome’s home, and all that pain was forgotten.

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