Well, that hurt!

  I was out early trimming the jasmine vines and rose bushes.  With the extreme amount of rain that we have had for the past few months, these things literally have taken over the yard.  I could not even find the arbor underneath all of the mountains of vines and the walkway beneath had become quite creepy.  I was always afraid that a moccasin was going to be lurking under there.  So, down they came!  While doing this, I found more than my share of creepy-crawly bugs.  They were on my shirt, on my jeans and in my hair.  The critters were crawling about just enough to be aggravating but, thankfully, none bit nor stung me!  

  My chore made it necessary to clear a few things from under the arbor. I moved the potted plants so the falling debris would not mangle them. A small cedar tree was lugged out from beneath the arbor and set in the sunshine.  This was a wild sapling that had been rescued from the path of mowers clearing beneath the power lines.  Son very patiently dug several small saplings for me and I potted them until I can find a safe place for them to grow.  As I tugged on the cedar tree which has grown to nearly four feet tall, I felt another critter crawling on my arm.  Instinct made me swipe my hand across my arm but immediately, I regretted the move.  I felt so bad.  The critter was a praying mantis and those are ones I never wish to harm.  Poor little guy!  Seeing the insect twitching on the ground really made me sad.  Ever so gingerly, I picked it up and set it back on the cedar tree hoping for some miracle healing!  

  Occasionally, I would stop my task to check on the mantis.  It never moved.  My heart was sinking a little more with each glance.  Come on, little fellow!  LIVE!  After about an hour, the mantis started stretching his legs and turning his head. He was alive!  Whew!  I felt ever so much better and I am rather sure that he did as well. 

  I did learn something from this encounter with the praying mantis.  I never knew that they could camouflage themselves so well.  This little guy's legs were the same exact green as the fronds on the cedar tree. His body was the same brown as the twigs and even had a similar texture. When he was motionless, he was extremely hard to see.  No wonder, I never spy these things in and among the plants!  Unless they move (or crawl on me), I never know they are there.  I researched this and found there are tons of different camouflaged mantids.  Wow! These guys are masters at disguise!

  Oh, and in case you are wondering why I keep calling this a "little guy", it is a male.  Just so you will know, if you look at the underside of the abdomen, you can count the segments to determine male or female. Males have eight segments while females have six.  Now see, there is a handy bit of information....or not.