praying mantis

Cellpic Sunday — 10/15/23

Fandango10 Comments

John Steiner, the blogger behind Journeys With Johnbo, has this prompt he calls Cellpic Sunday in which he asks us to post a photo that was taken with a cellphone, tablet, or another mobile device.

We get a lot of wildlife in our backyard, but recently I’ve been seeing a lot of dragonflies. Do you know how hard it is to get a decent photo of a dragonfly? They flit from place to place like skinny little hummingbirds. I was lucky to grab this shot when this dragonfly alighted on the wire fence at the edge of our backyard. I think he looks more like a teeny, tiny helicopter than an insect, doesn’t it?

Shortly after capturing the photo of the dragonfly, I met up with this little praying mantis.

I’m not sure how much praying this little guy will be doing, as he only has one leg. But he’s still alive and relatively mobile, sort of like me, so I suppose he’s doing okay.

If you wish to participate in this fun cellphone photo prompt, please click on the link to John’s post at the top of my post to see his photo and to read his instructions.

Cellpic Sunday — 10/30/22

Fandango15 Comments

John Steiner, the blogger behind Journeys With Johnbo, has this prompt he calls Cellpic Sunday in which he asks us to post a photo that was taken with a cellphone, tablet, or another mobile device. I thought this might be fun so I decided to join in.

This photo below was taken with my iPhone yesterday. I was with our dog in the backyard when she spotted a praying mantis on our back deck. Most praying mantises I’ve seen are green, but this one was light brown. My dog was curious and started sniffing the bug, which caused it to scurry over to some tall grasses next to the deck. Right before I snapped this picture, the mantis was looking right at me with worried eyes, but by the time I took the snapshot, my dog, whose nose was poking into the grasses on my left, caught the mantis’ attention, so his eyes are focused on my dog and not on me or my camera. Damn. An instant too late. Still, I thought it was an interesting picture to share.

If you wish to participate in this fun cellphone photo prompt, please click on the link to John’s post at the top of my post to see his photo and to read his instructions.

Sunday Photo Fiction — Answered Prayers

Fandango24 Comments

4BEF8069-26FA-4D03-8BC2-48E8AE35D22B“Whatcha doing, Sweetie?”

Paul was squatting on the patio gazing intently at the siding of their house with what appeared to be a vacant look in his eyes, as if mesmerized while staring at nothing in particular. He pointed to a bug on the wall.

Carrie followed Paul’s gaze and saw a large bug on the low on the wall. “That’s a praying mantis,” she told him.

“A praying mantis?” Paul exclaimed. “Is it poisonous? Does it bite or sting?”

“Oh no,” said Carrie. “In fact, in some parts of the world, it is considered good luck if one of these curious looking bugs lands on you.”

“Good luck? Why is it good luck to have a stick bug land on you?” Paul asked.

“I honestly don’t know why,” Carrie answered.

“Why is it called a praying mantis,” Paul asked.

Carrie sighed. “Maybe because of the way the it holds up the front of its body and positions its large front legs. It appears as though it’s praying, doesn’t it?”

Paul suddenly jumped up from his squatting position, kicked out his foot, and crushed the bug against the wall.

“So much for answered prayers,” he said, grinning wickedly.

(198 words)

This is a twofer. It is written for today’s one-word prompt, “particular,” as well as for this week’s Sunday Photo Fiction prompt.