There are little 'subtle signs of spring' that I look forward to every year. The worms showing up on the sidewalk, while I'm on my way into work is certainly one of those signs.

Wednesday morning, while crossing the parking lot I found myself dodging water puddles and with a keen eye, watching out for earthworms on the way into the building.

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I'm intrigued with the little rascals. Think about it, the earthworm clan has been around since the beginning of time. Earthworms respire through their skin. That's a fancy term for 'kind of like breathing,' so they're good to go, both under the surface of your lawn or field and out on the sidewalk.

So what were these earthworms doing out and about this morning? They were probably washing off after a long winter sleep beneath the surface. Imagine, instead of waking up to an alarm clock, you could wake to 'warmer and wetter.'

While writing this story I decided to finally find out why these worms pop out of the ground when it's raining. I had always envisioned that they were coming out looking for love. Wikipedia reminds us;

Earthworms are hermaphrodites: each carries male and female sex organs. As invertebrates, they lack a true skeleton, but maintain their structure with fluid-filled coelom chambers that function as a hydrostatic skeleton.

I did find out earthworms pop out for a more important reason, to breathe. according to wisc.edu; you might say if they stay 'down' they drown!

Thank you for sharing this important part of knowledge with your family and friends! Hey, while you're out for a walk the next few days in our rainy weather, you'll have something talk about! And thank you for sharing this story with your Facebook and Twitter friends.

James J Hill House

 

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