Little furry caterpillar soft and slow
Being sleepy thought that he to sleep would go
So, in blanket closely wrapped
On a twig he lay
Little furry caterpillar dozed away.
But, one day he wakened when the sun was bright
Stepped out of his blanket feeling gay and light
Then unfolded wings of gauze
Bearing him on high
Little caterpillar was a butterfly.
Who knows this rhyme? Anybody? I have no idea if it is totally correct...but, it is more or less what I remember from way back in about Grade 2 or 3 or somewhere like that.
I've tried to look for it online..and there are some that are sort of similar ...but not this particular little one. I wonder who it was that taught it to us? Hmm...
Anyway, last night while I was watering I saw this guy crawling around on the sidewalk (and, he isn't actually all that slow either) ... near the grass and it reminded me of my little singsong from way back.
He is black with an orang-y brown band around his middle ..and, long white spikes of fur or hair ..on either end. I also can't find one that looks exactly like him. Looks like some of my needle felted bears that I have "hair" to by needling it into their heads.
There are some sort of similar and they say they are Tiger Moth Caterpillars... called Woolly Bears .... however, they also say there are plenty of variations..so it could be the one.
I tried gently to put him into the garden, but he hung on mightily to the cement sidewalk...and, I didn't want to injure him, so let him go his way. I don't know if his way was the safest way.
If I see him today I will offer him a leaf or something to crawl onto and then move him into safety of the garden... he is probably long gone somewhere by now though.... darn it.
On the orange band there are spots on the top that are diamond shaped and some stripes down the sides.
The white spikes of "hair" are quite long...about half an inch they stick out.
Overall, he was about an inch and a half long.... and pretty fuzzy and fat.... you couldn't tell which was head and which was bottom til he moved... I should have gotten my macro lens I guess...but, I just wanted to get his picture and let him go his way.
5 comments:
We call those 'wooly bears' too - no idea what they grow up to be, but it's some sort of butterfly. They tickle when you let them crawl on your hand or up your arm. Fascinating to watch.
We get similar ones in India but those give you a nasty itch if you touh them. I had a wonderful time in Canada. We passed through Calgary on our way to the airport. Rocky Mountaineer was excellent we enjoyed everybit of it. Vancouver was suffering with the smoke effects from the fires in the BC forests. However as we went up to Jasper and Banff it cleared up and we saw the majestic mountains.
Amazing little caterpillar. I loved the rhyme - think we knew a similar one. Just read your comment on Gretel's blog about reading. Our early reading experiences have such a big effect on us don't they. My dad was the one who read to me and told us stories - I can still almost feel what cosy glow from sitting on his lap and feeling so loved and so precious. xx Jo
Oooh, I don't know that rhyme, but I like it! And I like caterpillars of all sorts--butterflies or moths. Amazing how they transform, isn't it?
Thinking of you these days...I am doing a kitchen renovation. Ugh.
I loved your rhyme. I thought you had written it.
We have some kind of caterpillar that is lime green and it will sting if you smash it with your hand. I have never smashed one but my son had one crawl way down in his shoe which he had left outside. His foot started hurting and one had been smashed with his toe. We avoid them now. They show up for about a week or two in the summer, crawl across the front porch then disappear. We are glad when they are gone.
Jeannie@GetMetoTheCountry
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