Wordful Wednesday...Manty

Meet Manty...

Short for mantis as in preying mantis.

We've mentioned our love for praying mantids before here and here.

Well, this year, we could not purchase any preying mantis egg sacs and were concerned we would not have any mantids in the garden. However, it would seem all our egg sacs of past have left us with some offspring who have decided to take up permanent residence with us. We've found them all over the yard and we can tell the difference between them by their size and coloration.

Manty is unique to us. Her color scheme is unlike any we've yet encountered. And it probably has to do with where she rests her antennae. We have a potted Roma tomato plant. It grew from some really old seeds and we just kept watering it and watering it. It's actually been our best tomato producer this year. That's not saying too much since it was a poor tomato year for our region, but I think the plant is happy because of who's living there.

Manty likes to come out during the day, especially when I water the plants. She'll bask and wait for the water droplets to hit her and then preening afterward. Sometimes we'll find her climbing a nearby wall searching for insects to prey upon. She's an incredible huntress. However, if we come too near her tomato plant, she'll scurry back and "guard" it.

Saturday was diaper day and around noonish I took my diapers out to dry in the sun. Our neighborhood does not allow clotheslines so I just use the patio furniture to hang my items. It actually works quite nicely. I really love hanging the diapers - they just come out smelling so fresh, clean, and completely stink-free. On my way back into the house, I greeted Manty guarding her plant.

A few hours later I went out and collected the diapers. I like to put them in the dryer for 10 minutes on air dry afterward drying outside. It fluffs them up, decreases the stiffness, and makes for super soft fluff on Bebe Sister's tushy. When the cycle was over I collected the diapers and dumped them into the laundry basket where I immediately took them for folding. Most of the time they sit in the laundry basket for a few hours or even in the dryer but I was running low on diapers so this load was immediately folded.

As I was folding this spider-like creature appeared in my diapers. I gasped and screamed...

T Rex Dad came running. Guess who had climbed into my diapers, went through the dryer, and was royally grumpy?!?

Manty was fine. We took her back outside to assess her well-being. Aside was being a little disoriented for a while and demonstrating every one of her defensive and aggressive poses/stances, she was alright. I was SO glad I did not even put on the tiniest bit of heat or run the dryer for longer than 10 minutes.

One never knows when one will encounter adventure...