Got Worms?

Day 84: Given the opportunity, most of us collect something, whether it's rocks, stamps, old letters, comic books, antiques, and I'd venture to say that most people have more than one collection. I certainly do. My very first collection began with a single "worm," as I have always called this assortment of worms and caterpillars. In fact, my very first "worm" was the guy in the top hat in the bottom left. My mother gave him to me for my first birthday, with a cactus planted in the hollow in his back. Is it any wonder I have a somewhat prickly nature? It would seem that my destiny was appointed in that first worm. Many of the ceramics in the "Worm Box" are almost as old; I collected at least half a dozen of them before I was old enough for kindergarten. Some have been lost over the years, some replaced, but others gone forever. My foster sister's cat ate one of the tiniest ones. The large character in the lower right was a "house-worming" gift from my husband. You'll see a few birds in the Box, the occasional cat, a couple of sheep, a frog, two dogs I inherited from my uncle Lee, and even a miniature mediaeval harpist less than half an inch tall. However, "worms" dominate the scene. Why worms? I haven't got a clue.