BUGGIN' OUT

Coming home from work, I saw this praying mantis on our gate.

I have a complex relationship with insects and spiders. I'm horribly afraid of being bitten or stung, yet I am absolutely fascinated by the creepy little bastards.

I never put together a bug collection as a kid. Somehow in all of the moving from town to town I just missed out on it. Maybe that's the source of my fascination.

If a camera is near by, I'll get as close as possible to an interesting bug and snap a picture. I'm fairly confident that a bug will jump away from me rather than on me if I startle it. Except for spiders. I'm not so sure about spiders. Probably, I'll find out the hard way.

Anyway, I know my good friend Garrick is going to freak out when he sees this picture. And that makes it all worth while.