My little love bug

Now I know why pet rocks -- however ridiculous they may have been -- turned out to be a tremendous success. My beautiful, too-smart-for-her-own-good, and ever-so-tenderhearted daughter can literally make a pet out of anything.

For weeks, we had three pet Georgia grasshoppers (you know -- those humongous black & yellow creatures) that lived inside the "crooket" (Hannah's way of saying "cricket") cage on the back porch. Hannah was a great little grasshopper-keeper, faithfully dropping a few pieces of lettuce in there for them every day or so. And, believe it or not, they ate it and stayed alive until they died of old age...except for the one sole survivor that "beskated" (escaped).

Oh -- and there was that one really cool one that I caught for her that had wings that looked like leaves. Because it was "special," it got to live INside until I convinced Hannah that it was a mommy grasshopper who was sad because she missed her babies. Her tender little heart couldn't bear that thought, so she let "her" go.

Her latest "pet"?? Love bugs. Three of them. Don't ask me how THAT works, but somehow she managed to capture and domesticate three little love bugs. When I asked her what she was going to feed them, she said, "Ummmm...I think they like lettuce." Of course. What was I thinking?

Anybody know the lifespan of a love bug? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.