During the summer it’s hard to walk through the yard without flushing out grasshoppers. I found the one above in a 5 gallon bucket-he was missing a leg-but other than that seemed to be in good condition.
I couldn’t resist seeing if he was hungry. When I was little I liked to catch grasshoppers and feed them blades of grass.
He made short work of the grass. This summer my mind has been on grasshoppers a lot. You see-at one time-I was Queen of the Grasshoppers.
Well at least I was to this guy. He was Pap and Granny’s first grandchild. He made me an Aunt for the first time. Actually, in his eyes I was Auntie Titter the Grasshopper Queen-and that made me feel like the world was indeed a wonderful place.
I’m not sure if I was the first person who taught him about grasshoppers-how you could feed them grass-how you could let one hop from arm to arm if you were quick-how sometimes grasshoppers spit tobacco juice on the tips of your fingers. But I do know, once he became obsessed with catching grasshoppers I was his go to person-cause Auntie Titter the Grasshopper Queen could catch grasshoppers like no one else.
Just a short month from now he’ll be heading for the Campus of Yale where he’ll step into the world of adulthood. I just hope he never forgets the Grasshopper Queen-cause I know I won’t.
Ever feed a grasshopper?
Tipper
p.s. If you want to learn how to make Grasshopper Chairs-go here.
I enjoy your stories so much; you must have been a real country kid!
The folks from Appalachia, indeed, share a special bond. It never ceases to amaze me how similar our experiences are in this unique world called Appalachia. We used to poke a stick in high grass to flush out grasshoppers.
I still think a June bug is one of the most beautiful of creatures. We used to hunt them,tie them to a string, and whirl around for hours. I now realize this was cruel , so will not be one of the experiences I teach the next generation. A fallen tree in the forest became an excellent hide-out.
I recently let my young Grandson capture bugs off the potato plants in his bug cage. It kept him busy putting potato leaves in there for them to eat and identifying them in an insect book.
All these things have helped to mold the folks from Appalachia, and with all these experiences your nephew will have all it takes to become whatever he wishes! He may one day have a longing for this place of comfort when his world gets hectic and he needs equalibrium.
Lord have mercy, woman, you never cease to amaze me. I’ve never purposely held a grasshopper much less fed one. You are definitely a Grasshopper Queen in my eyes, too.
You can tell your buttons are poppin’ with a nephew like that. Best wishes to him at Yale.
I remember your post awhile back about the Yale bound nephew. He’s finally getting to head out?!
I hope he never forgets the Grasshopper Queen or how to feed them!
And no I’ve never fed a grasshopper, but you’ll find me in the near future looking for a grasshopper to catch. And see if he may need a fresh blade of grass.
Congrats Auntie Titter the Grasshopper Queen, Yale is an awesome accomplishment for your nephew!
And thank you for bringing me to a new perspective on grasshoppers now, and if I can get someone to catch one for me, I want to try feeding it!
Fascinating. Never thought much about feeding a grasshopper because they ate so much of my flowers and garden before I found them…lol…Great story and sounds like a young man who is going somewhere. Congrats!
What a sweet story Tipper. Congrats to him on going to Yale.
No, I’ve never fed a grasshopper before but it looks like something I would enjoy doing.
Great story Tipper, yes I have caught many a grasshopper in my younger days. You DON’T want to know what my kid brother and sister did them, but it involved hungry cats! Sorry just had to tell on them, lol. All the best to your nephew.
T.
Yes, we have fed grasshoppers – but it was to feed them to our lizard (who has since passed on). – The Ladybug Princess (aka Greta)
I’ve never fed a grasshopper before, but I have made grasshopper seats!
Congratulations to the Yale bound nephew!
Bet that poor little grasshopper was getting hungry after staying in a pail with only one leg to help him escape..Lucky for him some toad didn’t have a meal out of him…
Yes, I’ve held and fed grasshoppers and watched the ‘baccer spit escape their jaws…..LOL…Nothing like
lightning bugs, jar flies, June bugs, huge night beetles and Luna moths to keep a child occupied in the good old summertime!
Once my brothers and I filled a mail box with our large catch of June bugs…When the postman opened the box, he thought he had been attacked by a swarm of bumble bees…He knocked on the door and ratted to our Mother..
She starting scolding us, but was laughing so hard at the look on the postmans face she couldn’t get her ‘naughty child’ message across to us very well..but we knew not to do it again! LOL
cute post!! You are braver than I, can’t stand anythign kind of critter that can jump on me.
congrats to your nephew. quite an honor!!
Patty H.
Tipper: I have feed several grasshoppers to a big trout.
I hope that young grasshopper does well at Yale.
tipper i so love hearing your stories.. and your grasshopper queen made me giggle a bit.. lol i too loved catching bugs when i was younger and now see my grandchildren doing the same.. i will have to tell them to try to feed a grasshopper when they find one.. and say that the grasshopper queen told me so..
have a great week..
big ladybug hugs
lynn
Hi Tipper, Cute little grasshopper…. I’m sure he was glad that you fed him…
Congrats to your nephew… Yale, huh???? Wow–he must be one smart young man… But–I’m sure he won’t forget his Auntie Grasshopper Titter!!!! ha
Hugs,
Betsy
Congrats to your nephew. Sounds like he has a bright future ahead. My 2 grandsons will be going back to college in a few weeks and it’s so hard to see them leave, but so good for them to return. Never played with grasshoppers. There are lots of them around here.
Tipper, is that guitar man? They sure do grow up.
I’ve caught grasshoppers in my life but I never knew you could feed them. That’s pretty amazing. I think you just have a soothing effect on everything, including the grasshoppers…….Oh Grasshopper Queen!
Sandra-yes I like frogs too : ) The only thing I run from-are mice or rats.
Blind Pig The Acorn
Music, Giveaways, Mountain Folk
All at http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
Tipper,
OK, Grasshopper Queen, I got to tell you this: When my brother and
I were a whole lot younger and less sensitive about nature’s things, we caught oodles of these
grasshoppers and they’re excellent
trout bait. And the brim just go
for them too, when you fish in the
lake. Nice post, brings back good
memories of youth……Ken
Aw, that’s so cute. They do grow up so fast. Looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.
Stacey
SWPA
I fed grasshoppers, and just about every other kind of critter I could catch, as a child.
As a parent I encouraged my children to do the same and they brought home their share of bugs, newts, garter and black snakes, tadpoles and a painted turtle we named Soup who was with us for many years.
This summer my grandbaby Kate is three. I bought her a fancy screened-in bug house. Yesterday’s catch was a cricket, and we’ve studied any number of lightening bugs and daddy long legs, a moth, a small toad and a grasshopper who not only ate, but left us a pellet!
I believe these early explorations help grow bright, curious young people – congratulations to your nephew and The Grasshopper Queen who helped to encourage his curiosity! I’m sure neither of you will ever forget!
That is wonderful. Thanks for sharing the grasshopper feeding techniques and about your first groupie, every body needs one or two.
Loved the Grasshopper account. A child has a natural curiosity and it takes little effort to spark the interest of the child. Where would we be without our inventors, explorers, writers, naturalists, scientists and others?
Lovely post! And I love the title ‘The Grasshopper Queen’!
never fed one, never held one, have run away from them and yelped when they hopped on me. I am NOT a grasshopper queen at all. always been afraid of bugs, i know in my mind they can’t hurt, like crickets in the house making there nosie drove me crazy, but someone else had to catch them and put them outside. don’t like frogs either and i bet you have held one of those to.
Yale Wow ! Looks like grasshoppers have paid off for this young man and maybe lots of hard work : ) Congrats
Grasshopper story is great, but…. how proud can you be of this young man going to Yale?! Congrats to him and all who helped him on his way, inculding his Auntie Titter the Grasshopper Queen! Bravo!