Gardening includes a fair amount of digging around in the dirt. It’s my happy place. Along with that joy, though, come various encounters with garden inhabitants.

Sometimes, I come home with a spider in my hair– it’s happened so often that I’ve become quite blasé about it.

Once, while trying to remove an unusually deep-rooted rhododendron, I disturbed a bumblebee. I hadn’t realized they nested underground.
Since then, I’ve found others in the dry duff beneath evergreen trees. Now, knowing it’s someone’s home, I try to be careful around that area.

Finding worms is remarkably common. Usually, I’m just glad to see them because their presence tells me they’re busy improving & aerating the soil. Whenever I find one, I carefully shift him to the nearest shady space so he can continue his good works.

Recently, I uncovered a worm tied in a knot.
Strange, eh?
I’ve NEVER seen this before. Have you?

How does one travel through the soil while one is tied in a knot? Wouldn’t squeezing through that tunnel make the knot tighter??
What’s this guy up to?
So, naturally, I had to Google it.

There are a few photos of a worm tied in a knot online.
There is chatter.
And lots of questions…

Some speculate that it might have something to do with drought conditions (although the soil was evenly moist where this worm lives).

Others figure it must have something to do with mating…
Can a single worm mate with itself?
Nope! (I googled again.)
Some worms have the superpower to gender shift, but every worm needs a friend to reproduce.

It’s a garden mystery to me.
If you can bring some light to the subject, that would be super cool. 🙂

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