Bumbles bounce!

That, for anyone who has been living in a cave since 1964, is a quote from the Rankin/Bass Christmas TV special produced in stop motion animation and entitled Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  (If you have been living in a cave and want to see a little clip of the relevant section, click here.)

For some reason, it’s pretty much all I remember about that TV special–other than the totally unimportant fact that Rudolph’s girlfriend is named Clarice.  But I do remember that line, because it always made me laugh.  (Upon investigation, I discover that it was said by Yukon Cornelius–and wouldn’t you think that name would be the thing that made me laugh?  It was his explanation of why he wasn’t killed when he fell over the cliff with the Abominable Snowman [the Bumble].)

I thought of it today for a totally unrelated reason.  I find, to my surprise, that grasshoppers eat window screens.  It’s not enough that they are tearing my plants to shreds.  They have started in on the screens–which were not in the best of shape anyway.

When I discovered this, a voice–more like a wail–sounded inside my head.  Why didn’t anybody ever tell me about grasshoppers eating screens?  The next voice in my head was Yukon Cornelius’s Didn’t I ever tell you about Bumbles?  And then I laughed.

(Nobody ever knows why I laugh suddenly for no apparent reason.  Usually, I try not to do it out loud.  As you can see, an explanation probably wouldn’t actually convince anyone that I am not crazy.  But I am endlessly entertained by the amusing things bouncing around my brain, even if they are only amusing to me.)

The grasshoppers, however, are not amusing.  They are destructive.  I would have thought, as I posted previously, that the lizards would have helped me in this regard.  But, no.  We have to do it ourselves.

And another disconcerting fact about grasshoppers is that they don’t die quietly.  They crunch.  (Shudder!)

But this Friday’s Find is the worst.

The plants will grow back.

The screens, however, are not self-regenerating.

You’d think a grasshopper would find them indigestible.  You’d think a grasshopper that was crazy enough to eat window screening would die quietly, poisoned by the aluminum or the fiberglass or whatever it is. But no.  They continue on their inexorable path.

I like to live in harmony with all living things, but I gotta say. . .I’m starting not to mind the crunch so much.