I had an awful experience with a grasshopper this morning...
I was in the back yard in my bare feet talking to Mr J. when he came back from his run...

and I felt something crawling on my right foot…I looked down and it was a smallish bright green grasshopper...
I know they don't bite...so I wasn't in a big panic to get him off or anything...I just lifted my foot and thought he would hop away...
Nope, he stayed.. just sort of hanging out on my foot...no big deal
until I look at him more closely...
he's only got one back leg...

you know the big strong ones that are used for the hopping part of a grasshopper?

only one.
he's an amputee

pretty sad I think...so I just sort of wait for him to go about his business...
he's not leaving...he seems to really like my foot...

so I think...hmmm, could make for an interesting photo...

I reach down, scoop him up and bring him inside, in search of my bug box and my camera...find them...put him in the tube, and go back outside
get the camera all set up and open the lid of the box ...knowing he won't immediately hop away, well, because he can't

ok...keep in mind I didn't sleep at all last night...and only got about 4 hours this morning...

I'm watching this little guy walk along...thinking to myself he's brave and must be tough to survive with only one leg...
until he manages to turn his gimped side towards me and I see it's not just his back leg that's missing...that the entire side is damaged...
he's blind in that eye...and his other two legs on that side look injured too
it made me super sad...
he's not tough...he's slowly and likely painfully struggling toward his death

damn

and here I was taking pictures of him

I felt awful

it was actually pretty traumatic for me...I end up crying and everything in the end
pretty pathetic huh

I asked Mr. J. to kill him

so now I have these pictures of this poor little dude...and I don't know what to do with them...they actually turned out sort of good...but...I don’t think I can do anything with them...but I don't want to forget him, so I don’t want to delete them either


I'm so lame