Survival of the Fittest.

As I was making dinner tonight, shucking some super yummy corn on the cob, I noticed one of the ears had a nice hole in it with little corn bits coming out. Great. One less ear of corn. Stuff like that skeeves me out so it immediately went in the trash. Freakin' corn critters ruining my ear of corn.

Regardless, I continued my shucking and went back to making the rest of my dinner. As I reach down in the oven drawer to grab a lid, I see a battle going on. A battle between a spider and some creepy crawly caterpillar worm thingy that no doubt came out of the corn. After a quick google search, it's a corn earworm.

GROSS! Gag! Ick! Get out of my kitchen!!!

I called for Rick. Pest control is his domain.

Meanwhile, Wormy is writhing in a spider web, trying to get free. Spidey is trying her darnedest to keep him put as she smacks her lips in anticipation of her meal(s) to come.

We couldn't stop watching. We were intrigued. Nature, right there in the corner of my kitchen. GROSS! Wait - is this what a spider does when they capture prey? Really? Huh, that's kinda trippy.

Rick and I were both torn. Do we take the entire thing outside and just chuck it? Do we crush them both? You know there would be gushing of stuff from the worm. I am gagging at the thought. I mean, the spider is working so hard. And I was kinda angry at the worm for ruining my ear of corn. Let the spider enjoy her feast.

Alas, it was not destined to be. Wormy got away and Spidey was scurrying about trying to figure out which way was up. Rick retrieved Wormy and put him outside somewhere. I don't know if he was squished or what. I don't want to know.

But then, I felt kinda bad for Miss Spidey. All that work she put in to wrestling Wormy and she had no reward. Poor Spidey.

Don't ask what is wrong with me, I really have no idea. They should have both been squished and be done with it.

Then I remembered. There was a dead fly in the breakfast nook that I had just tossed in the trash, wrapped in a tissue. There it was, right on top. I grabbed the tissue and dropped the fly in to Miss Spidey's web. I wondered if she cared for her dinner to be dead or did she prefer fresh meat. Nope, she didn't care. She wrapped him up and hauled him off. Somewhere in the deep dark crevices of my kitchen, behind a baseboard, she is having fly with a side of fava beans for dinner. I am happy for her.

She eats the other bugs people. And there are bugs. Like silverfish and those itty bitty ants and other weirdo things that come and go. I have often considered getting a bug guy, but by the time I get serious about it the other bugs go away and I am happy to ignore the fact that just because they are out of sight, doesn't mean they are gone. I have never lived in a completely bug free house, even when I did have a bug guy.

And for the record, this is not always the case. I have killed plenty a spider among others. But for some reason, watching her struggle and work. Seeing nature in one of it's purest and simplests forms, I just couldn't do it.

All creatures, great and small, deserve a chance every once in a while, right?

Even crazy a$$ snapper turtles sitting in the driveway.

Man, my house sounds like a pigsty. Really, it's not. I swear. We don't have creepy crawlies everywhere. I promise.

Wow. Something is SO wrong with me. I know this.