Compost and Worms

Lily is totally into the compost these days, compost and worms. Actually I’m pretty sure it has to do with the worms and not the compost or the idea of compost at all. For her it’s about “digging for wormies.” Although, she did head right back to the compost pit the other day, the one without a front, and pick an old gross half decomposed strawberry and put it in her mouth. The kid knows how to develop a great immune system.

When Lily’s GramS was here she went to Cedar Grove Compost here in Everett and picked up two loads of compost for part of the front yard we are turning into garden this year. Lily helped her unload it and dump it into the yard with the big wheelbarrow and her tiny one. She had a ball!

Now every time we go out to play/garden, she gets her wheelbarrow and pushes it around, or she digs in the huge pile of compost still waiting to be planted in. No matter what she’s doing she always wants to dig up worms. I love that she is getting so into the bugs in the garden, especially worms because of their part in the garden.

Here’s the gross part, the part I don’t love, she is alos into exploring how things fit together, AND how they come apart, including worms. She, Greg and I were outside the other day digging and working next to each other. I happened to glance over at Lily, and she is crouched down and stretching a worm out between her two hands. Yuck! I mean that poor worm, she was trying to pull it apart. Besides being totally grossed out, I didn’t know whether to laugh or yell.

I remained calm long enough to nudge Greg so he could see her before I grabbed the worm out of her hands and buried it back in the dirt while saying, “You have to be gentle with the worms, Lily, they’re fragile. We don’t pull them apart.” Needless to say, she quickly dug up another one and when I looked over she was butchering it. And before I could stop her she ripped it in half and said, “Oh, it ripped.” And went on with the digging. Sorry worms!