Fuzzbucket the Second

If you ask my husband about "Fuzzbucket", he will fondly tell you the story of a little caterpillar he captured when he was in the fourth grade. This little guy was black and orange, very fuzzy, apparently quite cute. He will tell you of how he made a little terrarium out of a jar and some rocks and twigs, and fed Fuzzbucket an ample supply of leaves taken from a nearby canal. Then one day the caterpillar wrapped himself into a cocoon and weeks later spread his wings as a butterfly. Now the legacy of Fuzzbucket lives on.

This is what the Fuzzbucket looked like. We think it is a Wooly Bear Caterpillar.

Two days ago while building a fence, my husband found another orange and black, fuzzy caterpillar and brought it in for our daughter to see. She was thrilled! She giggled as she held the furry thing in her hands and couldn't wait to make a home for "Fuzzy" as she calls it. After gathering twigs, leaves and rocks, Fuzzy has a lovely home in a jar. The funny thing, however, is that the caterpillar has already wrapped herself in a cocoon! The next time we will see her will be when she unfurls her wings. And a bit to my dismay she will probably be a moth and not actually a butterfly. Yuck.

My daughter, who has chosen to be Tinkerbell for Halloween this year, found it fitting to wear her wings while building Fuzzy a home.

I guess it is a good science project for us all and I am all about valuable learning experiences. Who knows, maybe Fuzzbucket won't be too disgusting as a moth to me if I knew her as a cute, fuzzy little caterpillar first.