(originally posted in 2018 on Christmas Eve)

It's Christmas Eve here in southern Oregon! If it was cold like it was a couple of days ago, snow would be falling heavily right now. Instead it's raining hard and has been since I got up at my usual crack of dawn. It's a bummer because I was hoping for a white Christmas but it's not going to happen. And, even though tomorrow will be cold enough for snow, the day will be clear so we are out of luck...phooey! Oh well!

The rain clouds held back the lightening sky so it was almost dark enough for a flashlight when I stepped out for my daily walk. Splashing down the driveway I peered around for possible stray cats and dogs falling from the clouds—boy was it coming down! The noise on my umbrella was so loud that I couldn't have my usual internal conversation about thoughts for the day. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to just walk along and look through the pouring rain and into the forest and meadow. Actually, it was quite Zen. No distractions, just Being. Very peaceful.

After about an hour the rain finally let up and I put my umbrella on the porch. It was light out now and the world seemed like it was happy to take a break from the relentless deluge. I listened to my podcasts and enjoyed myself.

On my last lap, I was walking up our hill when I noticed an odd filament on the road. Something about it was really strange and I kneeled down to take a closer look. It looked like a 1.5-foot/45.72cm piece of really thin wire coated in a creamy brown color. "Well, that's weird..." I thought to myself. "What is that?" I wondered if Steve dropped an odd piece of wire on the road, or maybe it was a stripped root of some kind.

It moved.

In a combination of horror and excitement I yelled, "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!! IT'S ALIVE!" I stared in absolute disbelief at the strange filament that was ever so slowly coiling and waving around on the road. As I stared, the weeks spent studying invertebrates in my Zoology class a zillion years ago came hurtling into my head. "WOAH!! DUDES!! IT'S A WORM!!!"

I could hardly believe I was doing this, but I reached down and ever-so-gently picked it up. It was like holding the thinnest snake I'd ever handled, but I managed to sort of drape it over my fingers as I would a snake. At which point it slid off and landed on the road again. I tried again. This time it didn't slip off and I held it up to my face to get a really close look. Which was its front end? Hmm...one end was a bit squared off, and I guessed it might have actually been longer at some point because it appeared to be cut off there. The other end looked like an extremely miniature version of an earthworm's head. I exclaimed in delight, "SO COOL!" Suddenly, I had a mission.

Carrying my umbrella in one hand and my bizarre wormy buddy in the other, I made my way hastily up our hill. Steve needed to see this! It will blow him away! As luck would have it, Steve was walking out to greet me as I neared the house.

"STEVE! I FOUND THE WIERDEST THING EVER!! LOOK!!!" He came over and I held out my hand so he could see the strange creature. Suitably impressed and fascinated, Steve pointed out its shortened back end. We both wondered how long it might have been originally. 1.5-foot/45.72cm seemed awfully long already. Kinda creepy.

I walked over to the meadow and gently placed it on the dirt. Part of me was totally grossed-out, but I was really happy to find such a strange animal on our property. I wondered what kind of worm it was. However, one thing I knew about worms is that there are a LOT of them. We're talking over a MILLION. The odds of me identifying exactly which one seemed unlikely but with that Earthworm head, I thought I might have a chance. To my great surprise, it only took about five minutes to discover what it was--a Horsehair Worm! (And they are in the same family as Earthworms!) And, though they are normally as long as 14"/35.56cm, some be 6.5 feet/2 meters!! UGH! The good news is that adults don't eat. Only the larvae are parasitic and go after insects.

Oh dear, I hope I haven't disgusted everyone! Please forgive me...wildlife of all kinds fascinates me so I hope you haven't lost your lunch on account of my unusual animal discovery!

Today's picture is a minimalist snowy holiday card! A few years ago it was snowing and I set up our 100-300mm lens in our doorway and took pictures of the birds that visited our feeders. This darling is an Oregon Junco and is among my favorite birds. Did you notice how huge and fluffy it is?! AHHHHH!!! SO CUTE!!! :D

Pam, I hope that this Christmas Eve finds you doing as well as can be and better than you have been doing. Every little step forward is progress, no matter how small. I hope that my healing energy finds its way to you and gives you a burst of energy! Thinking of you always!

Explored on 12/25/18, highest placement, #1.