Evie has been sort of obsessed with insects for awhile now. We went from butterflies to caterpillars before finally settling grasshoppers. I said at the time that the grasshoppers seemed a little sturdier than the insects she had captured before, but I never thought we’d still be hosting them 6 1/2 weeks later.

However, all good things must come to an end, and Greenie eventually succumbed, most likely to grasshopper old age. A few tears were shed, and he warranted a burial in the rocks behind the building, which was more than any of the butterflies ever got. Her other grasshopper, Jumper, is still going strong.

I have to give it to her, she did a pretty good job of taking care of them. I never would have thought they would have lived so long. It’s true that she did lose some interest towards the end there, and had to be hounded a little bit to keep getting them food, but what other 6 year old could keep up her enthusiasm for 6 weeks?

Don’t mourn for the grasshoppers though. Grasshoppers are so 5 minutes ago. We’re now the proud owner of 2 new (yet unnamed) snails that Ollie found and Evie immediately adopted. Unfortunately, they’re nocturnal and much less interesting than the grasshoppers were. Other than an initial investigative crawl around the jar, they mostly just stay in their shells hiding under a leaf. Still, it’s something to collect leaves and sticks for, and that’s practically the national pastime around here.

Anybody know how long snails live?