Ladybugs in My Cilantro

Now that there’s hardly a trace of snow, I’m wondering about the fate of a ladybug I found in my cilantro two months ago. Actually there were two of them. After putting the first one outside I saw the other one, its tiny legs desperately working the green contours underfoot. I was fairly certain it was the wife looking for her husband because I could feel her desire to vent. “Charles! I told you we should have asked for directions!”

I put her out with him, feeling kind of bad about it because when I removed the cilantro from the fridge they’d probably thanked God that the cold snap was over. They’d also survived my chopping off the stems and the torrential downpour as I cleaned the bunch. I’m sure they breathed tiny sighs of relief after making it through all that, not to mention their likely misadventures traveling from field to Raley’s produce section.

But I put them out in the frigid Tahoe air. Tell me, though, would a truly heartless person have thrown a sprig of cilantro after them? Doubt it. Besides, they're proven survivors of refrigeration. They’re fine.