No, don't worry, they're not the digestive tract type worms; they're wormery composting worms. I just thought I'd go for the dramatic effect ;oP I was given these worms for Christmas, which I have to say is one of the most random Christmas presents I've been given for many years, and I'm not completely sure of their usefulness as I have a small patch of mud at the front of the flat that masquerades as a tiny garden (and which contains something as yet unidentified that I'm highly allergic to and therefore cannot do anything in the garden/patch of mud), and an enormous expanse of concrete in the back, which I share with the people in the upstairs flat. I do try to grow some things in pots in the back yard, and I have one of those small, tenty-greenhousey-things that constantly threatens to fall down, but it couldn't be said that I have the greenest of fingers. However, I have the worms now so I will see if they'll make me some compost, and then I'll try to find a use for it.
It's taking me a while to bond with my worms. They're not the easiest creatures to feel warm and cuddly about, and I'm not all that keen on spending quality time with them. It has to be said, in fact, that I've had limited contact with them ... and I just can't get over the need to wear rubber gloves when I'm having to do stuff with/to them, though it's not like I take them to the park or play games with them. Now I'm not usually the squeamish type, and I wouldn't really say that's how I feel about the worms ... it's just, well, hmmm ... they didn't look all that appealing when they were clumped together in a squirming mass of wriggly bodies when they arrived in the post and I tipped them out of their worm-transporting bag and into the wormery. It kind of put me off. Having said that, I found myself concerned for their welfare when I was in hospital, and I even dreamt that lots of them escaped! My real concern for them was when the weather got very cold and snowy, which I think was one of the days I was in HDU so my concern may well have been heightened by hypoxia and the randomness that it can cause. I'd fed the worms a couple of days before I'd gone into hospital, and it was already pretty cold then, with a layer of ice covering the bubblewrap that I've put around the wormery box. When I'd opened the box to add the potato peelings that the lucky worms were going to be feasting upon, I'd noticed that the 'insulating' layer of dampened newspaper (as instructed by Wormcity) had become somewhat frosted. As I lay in HDU, before my dream about them escaping, I had visions of my worms knotted together in a lump of frozen spaghetti, having stuck to each other in the cold as they'd attempted to share body heat. It was a worry ... and quite possibly an attempt to find something to worry about other than my inability to breathe.
I wasn't really up to checking on the worms when I got back on Saturday evening - you can call me heartless if you like. I was a little bit afraid to look in on them on Sunday in case my fears of them turning into frozen spaghetti had come true. I took the plunge this afternoon, well not literally, because that'd be fairly horrid - to go plunging in with the worms - and a tight squeeze too as the box isn't all that big. No, what I mean, of course, is that I had a peek at the worms to see if they were okay, and much to my relief they were squiggling around (I think I just made that word up - 'squiggling' - but I'm liking it so it's staying), looking pink and relatively cheery. Er, not that I actually saw any of them smile, or that I could actually tell one end of the worms from the other, but they were moving and weren't tied in knots shivering themselves silly, so that was good enough for me. I still haven't bonded with the worms, but it has to be said that I did feel relieved that they were looking chirpier than they had done when it was so cold ... and it was also quite nice to put the lid back on the box and make sure that it fitted firmly ... and then wrapped the box back up in the bubblewrap ... and then closed the back door on them ... and then locked the back door ... and then stepped away from the back door ;oP
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