Random Blatherings

And I’m scarily creepily excited about that. I now have 18 altogether. Soon, they’ll grow into adult Tenebrio molitor AKA Darkling Beetle. This raising mealworms lark is surprisingly rewarding. Seeing the whole life cycle of a mealworm will be really cool.

One thing I have noticed, is that they’re picky about their substrate (the material they live in). Weetabix seem to be acceptable, oat bran seems to be unpleasant for some reason, and wheat bran seems to be their favourite. I’m not entirely sure what it was that they arrived in, but it looked pretty similar to wheat bran. They needed a top up after a couple of days, so I crumbled some Weetabix up for them, which they seemed to like. I added a large amount of oat bran into the mix yesterday, but I’ve checked this morning, and most of the larvae are round the edge of the bowl, whereas most of the oat bran is in the middle. I have a “test bowl” that has some wheat bran in it (it’s old bokashi bran, which is why it’s in a test bowl - I want to make sure the “helpful bacteria” don’t affect the worms), and when I added some worms to that, they all burrowed straight in. They never seem to come to the surface. So, it seems that wheat bran is the preferred substrate.

Today, I had the idea to try the mealworms with some bokashi bran. I have a huge bag of it left, that is going to waste, so I figured I’d try a couple of teaspoons of mealworms on it. They burrowed into it straight away, but I’m going to leave them in there for a week with no other food source, just to see how they get on. I don’t think it will stop them growing and breeding, because it seems to be pretty beneficial to every animal it’s fed to.

In other news, I now have 3 pupae. I’ve separated them into a small “nursery” box, with some Weetabix, but they obviously won’t be doing much until they develop.

Day 2 of the mealworm breeding.

They don’t seem very interested in either the apple or some potato I put in today. Yesterday they were swarming all over it, nomming it down, but today, they don’t seem to be bothered. I don’t know whether or not they had their fill yesterday. I’ll check them again tomorrow night, and see how much they’ve eaten. It’s going to take some experimenting

In other news, I have a new stage in the mealworm life cycle. I have a pupa. Or possibly two. Anyway, it shouldn’t be long now before they actually start breeding. That should be the fun part. Apparently, a female mealworm can lay up to 100 eggs.

Weetabix as a substrate seems to be OK. I reckon it will be rather expensive to use it permanently, but it’s useful to know that I can use it. Raising mealworms should turn out to be pretty inexpensive and easy.

My name is Solomon, and I’m a mealworm breeder.

I have a few birds in my garden, and I feed them all, because I like to see them. And it’s not like they come and put on a show for free. We get quite a few species, some of which eat seeds, while other’s prefer live food. I’ve had good results feeding mealworms in the past, with 3 different Robin’s paying us a visit, but they’re quite expensive to buy. Since I got some advice on how to raise mealworms (they’re apparently quite easy to grow), I figured I’d buy cheap mealworms off Ebay and give it a go.

Well, the box of little one’s arrived today, so I ceremoniously hand picked dumped them into a 6″ deep, 12″ wide plastic tub. I then added a couple of slices of apple, which were covered with worms inside of 60 seconds. I’m really surprised by how quickly they found the food and latched on, but there you go. Insects are natures survivalists, having been around since the time of the dinosaurs. I figure when you’ve been evolving for that length of time you learn a trick or two. The life cycle of a mealworm is apparently quite variable, depending on temperature - if I keep them warm they will grow faster.

Seeing as how they like apple so much, I think I’m going to slice one thinly on the mandoline, and freeze what isn’t used, individually, to save on waste. I don’t think there will be much, though, the way they’re going at the slices that are already in there.

I’m really excited to be raising mealworms. I feel all grown up. Seriously though, I do feel good to be able to grow something like this, that will save me money in the long term. I just hope they all survive.

At work, we see a lot of what you might call “characters”. One of them is Mad Pigeon Woman. She’s not in the least mad, but it seems to suit her. She’s a little old woman, with an Irish accent, who feeds the pigeons in the square outside of work, and she’s lovely.

The first time I met her I was a little freaked out because I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but now I look forward to her coming in, because she’s so happy all the time. She always inquires as to how I’m doing (seeming genuinely interested in the answer), and has a quick tale to tell that’s usually amusing. Whenever she does the Lotto, she shakes my hand for luck.

She has this aura of contented happiness around her, and in a way I’m jealous of that. I saw her one night, after closing, feeding the pigeons, and I thought that it must be great to be able to find pleasure in such simple things. I hope that when I get to her age, I’m that content. I’m on my way there, I think. No, I know I’m on my way there, and that is good.

I have a lot of respect and admiration for MPW. Anyone who can find a little brightness in this world is someone to emulate.

I hate hot weather. It makes me sweaty and sticky, and usually ratty and short tempered.

It’s been at least 23 degrees here today. And I’ve been inside. Thankfully by a door. My sharp mood wasn’t enhanced by my passive-aggressive boss. I ask for a break, and get the response (after she ignored me), “Yes in a bit. But I don’t know how long a bit will be”. She has time to stand discussing going running with my colleagues, but whatever. Eventually she stops doing whatever it was she was doing (probably discussing how the guy she met on Myspace *last night* wants to have anal sex with her - yes, we all get to hear about it….), and comes down to tell me I can go for my break, “if I must”. After exchanging a few more “pleasantries”, I went on my break. And deliberately came down 5 minutes late.
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Twice tonight I’ve tried to sit and write a blog post. And thing is coming, Usually I just flow, and whatever comes, comes. But tonight, I’m really having to push to get anything. What is up with me? It’s like I’ve whited out.

I’ve had some real successes over the past couple of days, and the only thing different today is that I’ve been at work. Perhaps that’s it? I need to recharge my batteries. All those people, all those different connections. We introverts need our alone time. So what can I do now?

I wonder if tomorrow morning will be any better for writing? I hope it will, because I’d really like to write this article. It’s all about insomnia and how to deal with it, and various things I found useful.

A first time commenter at Things I’m Grateful For, Kathy, tagged me for a meme. Here are the results. I hope you enjoy.

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

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1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Counting down the days until I left school, dealing with depression and ostracism, and worrying about getting a job. Things were quite bleak back then. I am SFG I pulled myself up and out of that. Life now is a thousand miles away from what it was.

2) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

1. Tidy desk. I seem to do this a lot.
2. Write an article, either about sleep, or food. My favourite things.
3. I have to Buzzfuse some articles I’ve written already.
4. Drop 600 Entrecards.
5. Spend some time contemplating my navel. Seriously, I had a job list of at least 12 things yesterday.

3) What snacks do I enjoy?

Anything I can fit in my mouth. Fruit, celery, bell pepper, Whole Earth fruit/nut bars & chocolate. Though I’m eating less and less chocolate as time goes on.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

I would buy a smallholding out in the countryside somewhere, and stick the rest of the money in the bank to earn interest. I’d then donate the interest to help make educational provision for those who have none. Education, after food/shelter/water etc, is the most important thing in life. Without education, there can be no advancement. I would set up several kinds of education - classroom based, vocation based, etc - and offer everyone the choice of which they wanted to do. I would also donate some of the money to organisations like Kiva.org, to help them. Since I don’t need/want much money, I’d have lots to give away.

5) Three Bad Habits

Kicking puppies, shouting at the neighbourhood children & farting in enclosed spaces. Not loving myself enough, not encouraging myself enough & not encouraging other’s enough.

6) 5 places I have lived…

Umm, I’ve only ever lived in one place - the UK. Unless you count the 6 months I spent living inside my head? That was fun. A bit cramped, though.

7) 5 Jobs I have had

1. Landscape gardener.
2. Till operator.
3. Skivvy for building firm.
4. Circus freak.
5. Seller of fine ebay purchases.

Six EightSeven suckers, er people I want to know more about…

1. Ree.
2. Kelley.
3. Cardiogirl.
4. GA Farm Woman.
5. Calfkeeper.
6. Adam’s Wife.
7. Sandy (Momisodes).
8. Quin. Although it looks like she’s on holiday or something. Never mind.

I hope you enjoyed this. I certainly did. If you join in, please let me know.

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I was reading The Hotfessional’s blog the other day, and she’d answered a few quizzes about flowers. Never having been one to poke fun at myself, I figured I’d have a go myself, and post the results. God help me….

Number 1:

You Are a Daisy

You see the world with an artist’s eye. Finding beauty is easy for you - even in the dullest of moments. You notice all of the colours of the world, from fresh grass to sunsets. You are a total optimist and hedonist. You love to drink life in.

What Flower Are You?

OK, that’s not too far off the mark. Though that is actually a Gerbera, not a Daisy.

Number 2:

What An Iris Says About You

You are incredibly hopeful and courageous. Even when you’ve been challenged in life, you have faith that everything will work out. Your feelings run deep, and you are a very grateful person.

What Do The Flowers You Pick Say About You?

Again, fairly accurate, apart from the courageous part (I’m such a nellie you wouldn’t believe it), and the fact that picture is of a Crocus.

Number 3:

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance. At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower. And at other times, you are wise like an iris. And more than you wish, you’re a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

This one is OK too. I can be quite cold at times, but getting and keeping Hydrangea’s blue requires a lot of work. I do require a fair bit of “alone time” to recharge my batteries, so I suppose I could come across as being cold.

Here’s another quiz I stumbled across on Blogthings:

You Are Very Happy

Your life is totally together, and you enjoy every day. And you don’t need a quiz to tell you that! You know how to find pleasure in the little things… And even when life isn’t so great, you have a good sense of perspective.

How Happy Are You, Really?

Again, pretty accurate. I do try to always look on the bright side, even if it all seems dark. There’s enough evidence to prove that life is a bowl of cherries or a steaming pile of horse dung, every single moment of the day. I’d rather have the cherries than the horse dung. But then again, you can’t grow roses without horse dung, so it does have it’s uses.

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Every day, as I leave the house, I have to look for my keys. And then my other keys. And then something else. I’ve decided I need an exit strategy. No, not that kind. I’m talking about the rhyme I say to myself as I leave the house to ensure I have everything I need for the day. When I was a kid, I often heard my mother say “keys, money, hankie, bus pass” as she left the house, and I’ve decided that I’m going to start doing the same thing.

So, from now on, I’m going to say “house keys, car keys, mobile, change for the parking meter, money, food, bottle of water, clubcard, staff discount card”. “Keys, money, hankie, bus pass” certainly is shorter. Does that say more about modern life, or about the fact I carry too much junk around in my pockets?

What are your tips for leaving the house efficiently?

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