Praying

I got this call from my dad, while at the grocery store. "Where is the camera?"

"Uh, on my desk somewhere." (My desk is a tip.)

"Oh, goodie. Under the piles of books and things, then?"

"Yes. What do you need it for?"

"There's this weird insect *mumblemumble, scuffle* bathroom."

He found the camera and hung up. I shook my head. When we got home with the groceries, it turned out that there was a praying mantis on the bush outside the front bathroom, shedding its exoskeleton.

This mantis has been a source of fascination all damn day. Dad couldn't figure out my camera so I took a shot at it, and have come to the conclusion that I am incapable of holding still when I take a photo. Then I charged up the old Mavica (which uses a mini CD-R and will not talk to my new PC), and got some nice shots later in the day of the mantis beside its exoskeleton. I wanted to put up a before and after, but the lighting contrast is too much--this image is BRIGHT and that one is DARK.

The mantis itself is blurry because it was raining, and his branch swayed every time a fat raindrop hit it. This is a shame, as the insect was quite beautiful. You can make out the little winglets on its back...

Oh well.