July 29, 2015
(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each
day’s gift.)
As I started to leave my house today, I noticed something
green on my black wrought iron railing—a praying mantis was swaying back and
forth in a strange dance. I have read that this swaying could be related to
crypsis, an attempt to mimic wind-blown foliage. It is also possible that the
repetitive movement helps the mantis to discriminate objects from the
background.
Excited about possibly getting some good photos, I
turned around to run back into the house and grab my Nikon with a macro lens. Returning
outside, I looked through the viewfinder as I neared the insect only to
discover gray fog. Condensation! From cool inside to hot, humid outside created
an impossible shooting situation as I was trying to capture nature. As soon as
I wiped the condensation off the lens and positioned the camera, it had fogged
up once again.
I watched as the mantis jumped from the railing to
the concrete and studied some ants that were running around nearby. I actually
saw one ant race unexpectedly across the body of its enemy. However, a few
seconds after that, with lightning speed (30-50 thousandths of a second), the
mantis grabbed another ant, held it tight in its raptorial legs, and began
munching on it. All the time during this great drama, I could not keep my lens
unfogged long enough to take good quality photos.
Regardless of a foggy lens, I felt lucky to have
witnessed this reality show three feet from my front door.
My
gift today is praying mantis drama.
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posts on this project here: 
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