The Conclusion of a Science Experiment

  You know the joke about the "science experiments" in the back of the refrigerator. Well, I've had something similar going for several years. Yes, years.

The large glass jar on the left has a hard mess of brown stuff in it. What is it? you ask. Er, um... it's icky. We have had trouble off and on for decades with grain moths. I try to keep everything they can get into in glass jars that have tight screw lids or other air-tight containers. I used to keep whole wheat flour in that jar.

A few years ago, I realized that moths had gotten in anyway. There were four possibilities. I only mention these to sustain the illusion that this was a science experiment, but it is an interesting practical kitchen question because they have also gotten into other screw-top jars. 1. Eggs were somehow floating in the air and settled in the jar some time when it was open. 2. Moths laid eggs along the edge of the lid, and the threads had just enough space between the jar and the lid that the first instar larvae could crawl up that inclined plane. 3. A female moth carrying eggs flew in the jar when I had it open. (But I discount this one because I have become very aware of leaving things open since I've waged full-out war on these moths for quite a while.) 4. There is another possibility specifically for this jar. Along the bottom edge is a tight crack. I've never put anything in that jar that is very heavy because I assume that some day the bottom will just fall out. Moths might have laid eggs near that crack and the instars gotten in that way.

I realize that 2 and 4 seem unlikely, but I think 1 and 3 are practically impossible, so there you have it.

So, the moths hatched, the larvae ate the flour, became moths, laid eggs, etc, for many generations. There were so many moths I decided I was not going to open that jar, inside or outside the house, until the closed system had expended itself. After the flour was all gone, I believe they started eating their own frass, and then each other. Finally, after several years, I could detect no movement inside the jar any more. But by then I was in the prep stages for my big hike.

All that was left when I opened it today was a hard brown lump that definitely smelled frassy. I had a hard time cutting it into halves so I could actually get it out of the jar. Then I gave it a good washing with hot clorox water. I was especially pleased that the bottom did not fall out when I did all this. I had assumed the jar was not going to survive the cleaning.

Let me just say that I like this jar. It has no sentimental value (I don't remember where I got it), but it has embossed letters on the bottom "McLaughlin's Manor House Coffee."

As part of this endeavor, I cleaned off the entire microwave table. Remember I mentioned catching mice last week? Well, you know what nice presents mice can leave, and between them and old dust, this was a worthy project. I think I'll put tea bags in the jar now. The lid isn't quite dry, so it's not on in the picture. But the moths don't seem to eat tea bags. (They eat a lot of unlikely things, but I haven't had them get in the tea yet.)

While I was messing around in the kitchen, I also re-hung my kitchen lizard who had leapt off the wall, and then I added some hooks to hold up the spring curtain rod that had lost its springiness.

This probably looks like I did a lot today, but the truth is that I didn't get to sleep until late, and then I woke up late with a neck so stiff that it was giving me an earache. Mostly I sat in my chair with a heating pad on my neck. But midafternoon, I started getting antsy and decided to clean up this space. It feels satisfactory even if it didn't take too long.

See Clear and Clean