Dew

Captured reflections

in dew time

hold on to the spider's web

abandoned

Still Leaf

I love it when you discover something that looks like something, but it's not.  This is the leaf bug I stumbled upon in my yard the other day.  I watched him for quite a while before I went in the house and got my camera, and when I got back, he was in the same exact position.  It made me think how rare it is that we really stop and savor those true moments of stillness.

Legs

I had the chance to observe a praying mantis explore the window screen and the plastic picnic table on the back porch.  I enjoyed watching her legs move with the gracefulness of a dancer.  

Serendipity in Wings

During a science lesson, my son was reading about the swallowtail butterfly and learned that it feeds upon Queen Anne's lace and parsley.  After he finished his reading, he asked if there was parsley in my potted herb garden.  As soon as he heard the word "yes," he bolted out the back door and headed straight for the herb pot.  To our wonderment and surprise, munching on a small leaf of parsley was a caterpillar.  Of course, we had to follow the proper steps in our "scientific investigation" and looked for the caterpillar in our Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies.  Sure enough, it was the caterpillar of an Eastern Black Swallowtail.  We put it in a glass jar, added a few sprigs of its favorite entrée, and over the next few days watched as it formed its chrysalis.  Once it emerged as a butterfly, we set it free to join all of its "friends."