Today's Worm Rescue

Today I waited until early evening to go to the market, to avoid the heat.  It's only May but it's already getting uncomfortably warm in the midday hours.  After a goodly walk in the sun I'm wont to come home with my shirt sticking to my back and my feet feeling like warm pickles inside the socks.  So it was going to be a brief trip (the market is only two blocks down the street) in the fading sunlight, and I wasn't expecting to run across any photo-worthy sights;  so imagine my surprise when I sighted a worm -- one of those extra-thick ones they've got here in Korea -- in the middle of the sidewalk.

I watched it for some moments to see if it was dead or had at least enough life left in it to be worth saving, and to my delight it moved -- but just barely.  I really think it was on the border of death, as it didn't respond at all when I picked it up, but in any case I took out my knife, dug a hole in the verge and put the worm in it.  I covered it up loosely with earth, feeling I was not sending it back to its native environment so much as I was giving it a funeral.

Number of worms rescued:  80

Worm Rescue, But...

It's been drizzling pretty much all day today.  Earlier, when I was out walking in the rain as I'm wont to do, I came across a worm on the sidewalk.  A small one this time, not one of those scary giant ones.  It was evidently quite weak, very slowly crawling along on the polished stone tile.  I picked it up gingerly, and it didn't offer much resistance, obviously on its last "legs".  I carried it to the verge, dug a shallow hole with my finger and put it in.  By then the worm had stopped moving altogether.  I watched it for a little while, then resumed my rain walk.  I don't know if it managed to recover.

Number of worms rescued:  79

A (Relatively) Big-Deal Worm Rescue

I set out on my way to the bank today to take care of some bills.  Before I got far though, I was surprised to see a worm drying out on the hot sunny pavement.  At first I thought it was dead, but then it moved a little.  There was no trail of wetness to indicate how it happened to end up there, and it was evidently exhausted, just barely alive in its exposed condition, yet it was still slick with mucus as if it had freshly crawled out of the earth, presenting a small mystery.  I carefully picked it up and it didn't put up any resistance, betraying its exhausted state.

I placed the worm in the verge amongst the shade of the vegetation, but the soil was dry and packed hard, so I dug a small hole with my finger and was encouraged to see there was some moisture under the surface;  I sprinkled some of the soil over the worm, but clearly the creature needed more than just a light covering of earth to revive -- if it wasn't over its limit already -- so I zipped over to the the supermarket across the street and bought a small bottle of water, all the while anxious to get back to the worm as quickly as possible.  On the way in I had to ask (politely) a mother-daughter pair to make way for me on the sliding walkway as I was in a hurry, and they were perfectly nice about moving out of the way, although they might have been slightly perplexed as to why a man would be in such a "grocery-emergency"😅.  As fate would have it, my way back was blocked by this little old man with his cart full-laden with bottled water, and I didn't dare to ask him to move it out of the way, it looked so heavy.

Anyway, I trotted back with the water, half-expecting the worm to be gone, but no, it was right where I left it.  I gingerly poured a little of the water over it (the water was not refrigerated), and was gladdened to see it move in response.  However, I didn't know if it was responding with gratitude to a life-saving gulp of cool ichor or reacting with annoyance to a sudden flood in its (possibly) last moments of life.  I therefore decided instead to pour the water on the soil next to it, churning it to mud, and piled some over the worm.  To this treatment the worm seemed to respond positively, moving with a bit more vigor than before, and I was encouraged to see it even seemingly trying to burrow its way into the earth.  

Whether it succeeded or not, I don't know, because by this point I needed to resume my trip to the bank.  I may go back tomorrow to see if there is anything left to see.

Number of worms rescued so far: 78

An Evening Worm Rescue

Number of worms rescued so far:  77

To avoid the killer heat I went down to the market after sundown.  On the way back I was surprised to see a large worm crawling down the middle of the sidewalk.

It looked slick and shiny, as if it had just crawled out of wet soil.  I put down my groceries, picked up the worm and placed it in the bushes by the side.  But as I picked up the grocery bags I noticed it crawling out of the bushes and heading back for the sidewalk!  I waited to see what it would do;  for a little while it crawled along the edge of the pavement, then finally re-oriented itself and started back toward the bush.

A Rather Unusual Worm Rescue

Number of worms rescued so far:  76

Yesterday the weather forecast predicted light rain for today, but if rain there actually was, it must have been very light and taken place very early in the morning hours because by the time I got up (admittedly late) there was no trace of it.  I had decided to go and buy art supplies today so I went down to the subway station and took the train to the HongDae neighborhood;  it should have been a reasonably short trip, but whaddayaknow, I'd forgotten that this particular subway line splits partway down and the two branches lead to widely divergent areas -- and I only belatedly realized that I'd boarded the wrong train.  So I got off at the next stop -- to a station that was completely empty and actually had a desolate feel about it (decidedly rare in Seoul;  if tumbleweeds grew in Korea they would have been rolling over the tracks to a melancholy harmonica tune playing in the background), and only after consulting the subway map on my phone did I realize that, by an odd coincidence, this station bore the same name as another, very busy station in central Seoul and I had mistaken this little-used and underserved station in the suburbs for that other station.  After over an hour the train finally came and took me back to the diverging point, where I gratefully boarded the right train that took me to HongDae.  All in all, the (would-be)simple trip took over three and a half mortal Irish hours.

O.K., now for the main part of the story.  So I came home, and as I trudged up the pathway toward my apartment I encountered an unusual sight ahead:  a large earthworm (one of the extra-large kind they've got here in Korea) on the path, slowly and laboriously crawling along the cement surface.  It was obviously exhausted, and worse, it was dangerously exposed there in the middle of the paved path -- from both the desiccating air and the humans walking by -- and I didn't know how it came to be there, as there was no sign of recent sprinkler activity, and yet its "head" was covered with muddy soil, but the rest of its body was quite naked.  But in any case, my first thought was to moisten its drying-out body;  fortunately, this was just steps from the strip mall in the apartment complex, so I picked it up (unlike last time, I managed to overcome a certain amount of aversion to do this, as this worm was extra large as I said), nestled it in my cupped hands and hurried over to the restroom in the strip mall, where I gave it a (probably welcome) splash of water from the faucet.  The worm actually reacted fairly vigorously, writhing and partly crawling up my hand, which was a positive sign of reserve strength.  Then I came back to the spot where I picked it up and looked around for a place to return it to the soil.  A lady came by just then, and seeing the little passenger in my hands, she asked me -- without a trace of revulsion -- what "that thing" was.  I told her it was an earthworm, and she said "Ah, you're saving the worm!", then she asked where I'd caught it, bless her!  I told her I just happened to find it there on the pathway, and she smiled and went on her way.

The surface of the flowerbed by the path looked fairly dry, but as I dug a little shallow hole with my finger I reached wet soil underneath, so I let the worm down in it and partly covered it up with debris.  I hope it was able to dig its way back in.

Related post:  Worm Rescue Update

Worm Rescue Update

I very rarely see earthworms these days.  Back in SoCal it was pretty much a certainty that after (or during) a rain you'd encounter a worm or five on the sidewalk, but for some reason here in Korea worms are a rarity, at least in the city, and when you do come across them they must be different species because some of them are huge compared to the ones in Southern California.  Today we had some light rain in the morning, and I thought that was it, but then in the afternoon it began to rain again, and soon it turned into a heavy downpour, complete with thunder and lightning worthy of the summer monsoons.  Well, I happen to love rain -- the heavier the better -- so I broke out my underused raincoat, put on the wide-brimmed safari hat and the trusty old wellingtons and set out.  And on the way out I came upon a worm crawling down the sidewalk.  It was one of the bigger ones and I was actually a little scared to pick it up with my fingers -- it was almost like a tiny snake, plus slimy and slippery -- so I used a twig to pick it up and move it to the verge.  The soil was wet and softened from the rain so I think it would have made it home O.K.

Then on the way back I encountered another worm on the sidewalk -- a smaller one this time -- and when I picked it up it didn't put up any resistance so it must have been exhausted.  I put it down on the soil and covered it up with some plant debris.  I hope it was able to dig its way back in.

Number of worms rescued:  75

Always Take A Picture First

Four days (I think) ago I rescued yet another worm on the sidewalk.  It was kind of middling-sized, between your regular American-sized worms and the ridiculously big scary ones they've got here in Korea.  I had forgotten about it because I had neglected to take a photo.

Number of worms rescued:  73

Related Post:  Presbyopia Creeping Up On Me

Presbyopia Creeping Up On Me

A welcome (always) day of rain the other day.  While on a walkabout around the wet neighborhood I came upon this sight on the sidewalk.

Without much ado I started to dig a little hole in the rain-softened earth with my knife to deposit the worm in,

only to realize after a second look that the "worm" was a twig.  Dang this "age-related farsightedness".

Number of worms rescued:  still 71

EDIT:  Today I came upon another worm -- a real worm this time;  it was writhing as if in torment on the sunny dry sidewalk, so into a damp shady hole it went.  A job well done.

Number of worms rescued:  72

Worm Rescue Update Of The Day

Today it rained.  Walking home from a short walk in the rain, I spotted this worm on the path just in front of my apartment.  It seemed rather sluggish and weak, but when I picked it up it resisted with surprising vigor and tried to wriggle out of my grasp, and I had to take a quick shot while having my phone rained on (I had to put down the umbrella) and getting my hand covered in slippery slime, which is why the photo quality is out the window.  Here the closeup actually makes the worm look almost like an elver^^ 

Number of worms rescued:  71

Worm Rescue Update

Today on the way home from grocery shopping I came across this worm drying out on the sidewalk.  It was a bit of a surprise, because the day had been sunny and warm, with not a hint of wet.  Anyway, I picked it up and placed it on shaded soil under some shrubbery.

Number of worms rescued:  70

Another Worm Rescued

Just came back from a short walk in the rain.  While on the way out I came across a worm slowly inching along, right in the middle of the sidewalk.  Overcoming a certain apprehension -- this guy was Really big -- I tried to pick it up, but as I did so it violently writhed and wriggled out of my fingers and fell back onto the sidewalk.  This happened several times but I finally managed to pick up the slippery, slimy creature and put it down on the rain-softened earth over the adjacent retaining wall.  Before resuming my walk I waited until I saw it start to dig its way into the soil.  This was my first worm rescue since moving to Korea.

Number of worms rescued:  68

EDIT:  I just came back from a quick trip to the supermarket, and on the way back I found another (not nearly so large) worm on the sidewalk.  I removed it onto soil as well.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo.

Number of worms rescued:  69

Beauty. And Earthworms

Number of worms rescued :  67

Oy

It drizzled throughout the night and early morning today.  In the parking lot at work I found a bunch of stranded worms, all within a short distance of each other.  I took them and duly deposited them in the wet earth, then on the way back to the office I came across a bunch more.  I took them and duly deposited them in the wet earth, then on the way back to the office I came across a bunch more.  I took them and duly deposited them in the wet earth, and thankfully on the way back this time I didn't encounter any more for the time being.  I think there were 14 in all, though I can't be certain.

EVEN I WAS A LITTLE SPOOKED BY THE BIG FAT ONE AND THE REALLY LONG ONE

 Number of earthworms rescued:  61

Another Rescued Worm

This one is actually from several days ago.  I forgot to upload it amidst all the holiday distractions.

Number of worms rescued:  47

After The Rain

It rained in the early hours of the morning today, so the ground remained wet through most of the forenoon.  And on the wet ground there were these very beautiful things.

And of course, wet sidewalk means stranded worms.

When I come upon a worm that's lost out of the soil and in danger of drying out, my usual practice is to take it to a grassy area, dig a little depression in the moist earth with my finger, place the worm in it and lightly cover it up.  Until now, though, I did not know if that was the best way to help the worms;  this one assured me that I have been doing the correct thing all along -- as soon as it hit the earth it started to burrow in.

Number of worms rescued:  46

A Glut Of Flooded-Out Earthworms

The wet weather continued into Monday, and I was able to help 6 worms that had become lost in the parking lot at work.

Number of worms rescued:  45

Another Worm Rescue!

Yesterday it drizzled/sprinkled/misted off and on -- mostly on -- all day long.  I appreciated all the wet, and I guess the earthworms did too;  there were three of them within a few feet of each other in the parking lot at work.  I dug a little depression amidst the grass and dumped them all in together (I was a little pressed for time) before lightly covering them with damp soil.  I hope they didn't fight.

Number of worms rescued:  39

Worm Rescue!

I've been curious lately as to why I haven't come across any stranded worms for months.  Have the gardeners been doing something differently?  Are the worms getting smarter?  Are there more birds in the neighborhood?

Anyway, today there was heavy cloud cover, and although there was no rain it was cool and humid all day long.  And sure enough..,

Number of worms saved:  36

Last Week It Rained

And so, of course...

Number of worms rescued so far:  35

And After A Rain... (Pt. 1)

There are stranded worms on sidewalks and in parking lots.

Number of worms rescued so far:  34

[I did say at an earlier point that worm rescues would no longer be main post topics -- but hey, as Walt Whitman said, Do I contradict myself?  Very well, then I contradict myself;  I am large, I contain multitudes]