The Worm-Saving Mission

This morning, Troy woke me up early, and realizing that there was no chance that I was going back to sleep, I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. He eagerly agreed, and off we went. Troy is more of a leisurely, wandering sort of walker. Whereas, I’m more of a power walker. So, I always have to steel myself to slow down and expect a hundred stops. Today, we stopped more than usual, because Troy found a helpless earthworm covered in sand and struggling to drag his rapidly drying body across the sidewalk.

We recently watched an episode of the Kratz Brothers where they explained why earthworms mainly stay underground. They secrete a slime all over their body to keep it moist and lubricated. It keeps them from drying out, but it quickly loses its effectiveness in the sun. So, Troy was immediately concerned that this earthworm wouldn’t make it to the safety of the grass before it was too late.

I found a stick, and we flicked it into the green, wet grass. But Troy realized that if this earthworm was struggling, then others were probably struggling too. So, we spent the rest of the walk searching for earthworms to save. Our worm-saving mission meant that we had to stop and check on every alive worm, dead worm, and worm-like stick along the way. But we put a dent in the suicidal earthworm population of our neighborhood. 

All told, we saved around 35 worms today. Although, Troy touched twice that many, the rest being dead. He had to make sure that we weren’t accidentally missing a worm that needed our help. But despite the fact that we were moving at a worm’s pace, we had a lot of fun together. We even saw a couple of rabbits and a roadrunner. It was a great way to start the day.