Dante our dog had a large mass on his neck and a week and a half ago he finally had a surgery to remove it. It went great and he is healing up but his behavior feels like the biggest change. He seems so much happier and is eating better than he did pre-surgery. When we were leaving the vet yesterday there was a praying mantis in the middle of the sidewalk just sitting there. I thought it was a neat looking creature and wanted to show it to Riley because I don't come across them often but she was at school. I scooted it into a baggie I had in the car and took it home to be her surprise when she got home. I like teaching her how to investigate things and to ask questions, so thing little creature was our latest project. His new home for the next day was a mason jar with screen on top and a few crickets to keep him company or make a nice snack.
We learned that there are 20 different species of praying mantis in the United States. They are hunting insects and will eat almost anything. They use camouflage to hide from birds and other predators as well as get close to their prey. They have good vision and quick reflexes, it creeped me out the way it stared at me and its head followed me across the room. It was fun to examine closely though. Today we let it go in the front yard and I told the kids to stay back and just watch but Riley walks up to it and gives it a flower. After being held in captivity for a day then having a child get in its face it puffed its wings up in warning but she didn't get back and it flew right into her. She freaked out and started crying but it didn't last long and flew across the yard. So close. She calmed down and I think she learned some new things about an insect and about listening. When asked why she gave the insect a flower, she said " because I love it".
Miss Nora has been pulling herself up with ease on anything she can find. She zips around the house with ease but I am not sure how far off walking is.
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