Hey! Take it easy with those snips!

  Just after daybreak, I was out getting the garden ready for the fall planting.  It is time here to harvest any seeds, dry herbs and pull up spent plants.  I was snipping away on the basil plants as I collected seeds for next year's plantings.  Both the Sweet Basil and the Thai Basil were covered with seeds that were the perfect maturity for harvesting. The Lemon Basil is just starting to bloom so it will be a bit longer before those are ready but other herbs were in dire need of trimming. The snips were just a'clicking along when suddenly, I almost made a horrible mistake!  Whew!  I drew the opened cutters back just in the nick of time.  One more swipe could have been a life threatening situation....at least for a critter.  

  Nestled down under the leaves of the Sweet Basil, a Praying Mantis had sought shelter from the coolness of the night.  The critter was still a bit "groggy" from the lack of warmth and was not able to quickly escape the sharp blades that were bearing down upon her.  When I pulled back my hand, the sweet face just stared back at me.  Poor baby! I must have terrified her!  I gently put my hand near the mantis and was not surprised that it readily climbed aboard.  The warmth of my hand appealed to her cooled body.  Ahh, sweet thing! The Praying Mantis cocked her head to one side as she stared at me.  After a bit, she was ready to move on in search of breakfast.  I only hope that warming her might have given the mantis an edge on finding prey.  All other insects were still slow-moving in the foggy coolness of the morn.

  A Praying Mantis is a fine find in the garden.  With the number of plant-chewing critters that this helpful insect will catch, I can fully appreciate her presence.  My garden is a much nicer place because of her.  Whew!  I feel so much better about watching where I snip.  So, Folks, keep an eye open for unsuspecting, helpful critters!  They are great to have residing in your gardens!