This memory came back to me today, with a certain poignancy.
I reached a point where I couldn’t feed live crickets to my turtle anymore (softy!)–so I kept them. Easy-maintenance pets: a couple of hiding places, a little water dish, some nice wheat germ for their food, and there you are.
I remember vividly one New Year’s morning, heavy snow falling, already pretty deep, cold as could be–and in my living room, a bunch of aging crickets merrily chirping away. Not a sound you often hear during a snowstorm.
I had to stop with the crickets, though, once they became too big a temptation to our cats.