far too much writing, far too many photos

runswithscissors


Sunday, June 19, 2005

One afternoon just before I left Madrid, an afternoon when I apparently had far too much time on my hands and spent a while nosing around Ebay, I stumbled across a listing for a bunch of praying mantis egg clusters.

Praying mantis egg clusters. The perfect gift for the geek in your life.

Got me remembering encounters I've had with praying mantises. (Manti? Manteez? Mantiseseses?) For instance: a spring evening, me in the produce section of a supermarket in New Paltz, N.Y. Staring at fruits, vegetables, in shopping mode until something anomalous caught my eye: a mantis standing among the goods -- green, surprisingly large, motionless. Looking like no other member of the insect world. Remaining still, staring placidly back at me. I extended a hand, it stepped easily into my palm and waited patiently while I left the store, found some bushes, let it step off onto a leaf. It remained there for a moment, gazing at me, then moved deeper into the bush, out of view.

I remembered coming across a seed cluster in one of the bushes in our small back yard on Long Island, me five or six years old, remembered someone telling me praying mantises were protected, that it was a crime to kill one. (True? False? No idea.) I thought about how rarely I've had first-hand encounters with mantises, how distinctively cool-looking they are, how they make their living eating insects that we don't like, and I suddenly found myself ordering a bunch of egg clusters.

About a week after my return to northern Vermont, the morning mail brought a small cardbox box. Inside I found the clusters, ten of them. I gave away a few, put the rest in a plastic container with clear wrap over the top (minute holes poked in it to allow oxygen). The eggs would take a few weeks to hatch, when they did each cluster would produce one to two hundred baby mantises.

Weeks passed. Every time I passed the container with the clusters in the kitchen, I'd check to see if I'd become the proud father of hundreds of praying critters. Nothing doing.

Yesterday a.m.: on stumbling into the kitchen, my half-open eyes noticed the container with the clusters looked way fuzzy inside. Because, I found out on closer inspection, teeny mantises covered every surface, 70 or 80 of them all told. Once fed, showered, caffeinated, clothed, etc., I took the container outside to a hedgerow that runs along the property line. Took off the plastic wrap, ushered the little critters into the world, discovering in the process that they'd all come from one cluster, were still hatching out of it, little teeny heads poking out, little bodies slowly appearing. Left that cluster in a protected place, covered the container back up, five clusters left inside. Went on with the day.

Today: no change, no new crowds of baby mantises, though I'm having fun craning my neck every time I pass the container.

I am so easily entertained. (That's a good thing. I think.)

Waiting to pop:




Madrid, te echo de menos.

rws 8:37 AM [+]

Comments: Post a Comment

Links to this post:

<\$BlogItemBacklinkCreate\$>

BLATHERINGS

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


MORE FOCUSED BLATHERINGS

Personal History



Travels:
London '01
Pamplona
Italy '03
U.K. '03
Sevilla
Casablanca
Stoke-on-Trent
Barcelona
Québec/Ottawa
Boston/Lisbon/Madrid
Italy '04
Montréal
La Sierra

Events:
Madrid -- arrival
9/11
Emergency Room I
Holidays 2001
Holidays 2002
Holidays 2003
Holidays 2004
Holidays 2005
A neighbor's passing
Madrid -- March 11 bombings
  and aftermath
Emergency Room II
Israeli friend/Madrid Marathon
Madrid -- Royal Wedding
The DELE exam

Excerpts from GONE, a novel:
Chapter 1 (complete)
Chapter 6 (complete)
Chapter 8 (excerpt)
Chapter 9 (excerpt)
Chapter 9 (excerpt)

Screenplay excerpt:
BURBANK SHRUGGED

Short stories:
Murphy's Wife
Another Autumn
Queja de Una Hermanastra
  Muy Conocida

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


OTHER SOURCES OF WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT

People/Weblogs:
dooce
foxvox
fudge it
fear not
rebekka
bookslut
802online
idle words
madhaiku
wockerjabby
grow-a-brain
digital camel
letting me be
kung fu grippe
franklin avenue
fanatical apathy
baghdad burning
the happy booker
mimi smartypants
between the miles
just a hippie gypsy
tomato can brushes
playing with my food
sugar mountain farm

Good Clean Fun:
gizmodo
futurismic
postsecret
dave barry
human clock
mcsweeney's
spaceweather
book-a-minute
internet archive
self-portrait day
my cat hates you
out of context quotes
surrealist compliment
  generator
strindberg and helium

Makin' Musical Whoopee:
muxtape
soma fm
pandora
last fm

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


ABOUT RWS/CONTACT





This page copyright © 2001-2008 by runswithscissors unless otherwise noted.


runswithscissors would like to thank everyone who's ever lived for everything they've ever done.



Syndicate This Site


Blogarama

BlogCatalog

Bloggapedia, Blog Directory - Find It!



technorati profile

Subscribe with Bloglines

www.flickr.com
runswithscissors' photos More of runswithscissors' photos