Friday, October 05, 2007

Morning Visitors......
My first stop every morning (after the potty ), is my kitchen window. I always drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and gaze up at the early morning light playing on the mountain. Today, there was a strange silhouette on the window..... from a distance, it looked like a feather.


I approached and took a closer look and saw that it was a praying mantis.... one of my favorite insects. It brought back a flood of memories as they were abundant on our farm in Kentucky growing up. They are one of the more elegant species of the insect world. He was as curious about me, as I was about him. I don't have a good camera for micro shots, but you can see his little beady eyes checking me out.....




While I was out getting a photo of the little guy, I turned around and looked up at the hill behind us, and saw some of our regular morning visitors...... buzzards. We have two trees on the hill with dead branches, and they love to roost there at night..... sometimes I've seen as many as twenty at a time... their bald, bright red heads tucked into their chests in slumber.


Since I had the camera ready, I thought I'd go see if my other little morning friend had a productive night. I went to the front of the house, to our shrubbery, and saw she had been quite busy last night. She's always by the front porch when I sit and drink my coffee there in the mornings. Sometimes I give her a little treat by leaving the porch light on for a while in the evenings. :)


It seems I am surrounded on all sides.........
Some might find these creatures quite icky, but they all serve a purpose, and keep me company out here in the country....

15 comments:

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

A very good mornin' blue :) :)
Just checking upon a few of my blogging friends while taking a break from m thesis work...it's lots of work right now as my defense is scheduled for the last week of OCt..there's hardly any time left and have been facing some real road blocks too...shall mail ya soon.

and i like your mantis but I think I like your spidey friend the most.....he's such a hard working fella, I should take some tips from him :)

L.L. Barkat said...

What an awesome web. I love creatures and their creations.

Anonymous said...

Wildlife all around. We used to think preying mantis were poison and could kill us. Also thought that about the black willow spiders in the wild blackberry patch.

kirsten said...

That is too cool, all the wildlife, all the creepy and crawly things around you. Thanks for sharing!

christianne said...

Yikes! That is a GYNORMOUS spider!! I wouldn't be able to handle it. Just couldn't, couldn't, couldn't.

Of course, you remember my recent fiasco with the cockroach-turned-baby-gecko in my bedroom. Big spiders make me feel even worse, since they're silent and slow and can creep up on you anywhere. I don't know how you do it, letting her stay so close!!

bluemountainmama said...

haha, christianne! i DO remember that fiasco! i guess i'm just used to creepy crawly things from growing up on a farm.... i would pick up all kinds of bugs, worms, and even snakes. but if they are in my house, that's a whole different ballgame! but this spider is what i call a 'garden' spider and she is very helpful at capturing pesky insects and has a beautiful yellow design on her....

bluemountainmama said...

oh, and i am LOVING both yours and kirsten's new profile pics.... very purty!! :)

photowannabe said...

Hmmm I left a comment yesteray, or so I thought, guess it didn't go through. Just thought I would say I love your morning visitors and that the only praying mantis I have ever seen was green. Have a super weekend,

Anonymous said...

I see I'm not alone in having a morning ritual. For me, it's opening my bedroom curtains - even before potty - to see what the world is giving me today. Lots of times, I open to see we're in a cloud; other times, I see deer or birds or what have you. I love the anticipation!
I've not yet seen a praying mantis, and frankly...I'm OK with just enjoying yours!

bluemountainmama said...

sue- i had only seen green before this one, too. i looked it up online and some of the bigger males are brown.

Lakshmi said...

I would love birds for company

JAM said...

Well, that's at least one thing we have here in Florida too; buzzards.

Lots and lots of 'em.

Elise @A Path Made Straight said...

Ah, what a lovely taste of your mornings!
Although my six-year-old would be terrified of a praying mantis in the window (long story), I would find it fascinating as you did.
Thank you for sharing the peace.

Anonymous said...

Ho! Ho! Ho! My Little Blue One! You must not be the Little Blue One who graced my own home as recently as this past summer...the Little Blue One who knew not the meaning of the word "early." Heh! Heh! Heh! Since when has the "early morning light" been seen out anybody's window at 10 in the morning? Heh! Heh! Heh! Ah..... But I still love you just the same!

bluemountainmama said...

dad- isn't that what grandparents are for? getting up early with the grandkids and letting mama catch up on some much needed rest? :)