Last Thursday, a group of us from the newspaper company took part in the United Way "Day of Caring," where instead of just providing cash donations to the United Way, you provide community service too.
Our project: Helping with the gardens and trails at Nixon Park. Our small group was me; my boss, Randy; and our office's executive assistant, Donna.
Now, Donna thought she'd signed up for mulching. Unfortunately, we got "trail maintenance" instead. The good news? It meant I got to use a scythe. The bad news? Pretty hard work. Lots of bugs. Many things with thorns. Did I mention the bugs?
It was all going well until Donna thought she got bit or stung by something as she lifted her head through some leafy branches.
Well, guess what we found on the underside of one leaf?
This guy!
After a little research, I found out that he is a saddleback caterpillar.
Thanks to the Internet, I found a clearer picture:
Isn't he cool? I've never seen anything like it! The only down-side is, from reading more about them, I found out their stings really do hurt - possibly worse than bee stings. So, Donna, I'm sorry you had to happen upon him that way!
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