The Mantis and it’s Prey

CW: close up pictures of matis with its prey

I was just mentioning to the grandkids that we have one orange dragonfly that rules the pond. It successfully chases away other dragons that want to come visit. It even shoos off the inquiring hummingbirds or swallowtail butterflies. Odds are it was born in this pond last year and it’s probably laid eggs at least once already this season.

But even tho this dragon was mighty, the mantis was cunning. The usually green Praying Mantis turned herself the color of the dying cattail reeds that are near the waters edge. She must have spied that THIS was the favorite roost for the flashy pond fly. So she hopped or dropped or otherwise made the leap from land to water plant and crawled up the fragile reed to the top and sat .. waiting in ambush.

By the time I sat down on a concrete conduit under the pagoda, the mantis had already captured our resident orange sprite. She went for the head first no doubt it was instinct since mantis eat part of the brain of it’s mate to complete copulation. That may sound like more detail than you wanted to know. Suffice to say I felt the same way when Dr. Wichman explained it to a small seminar class of eight women that met in his office on Tuesdays when I was a senior in college. Had I not known “Harv” which everyone but me referred to him as, I may have wondered if we were all unsuspecting damselflies. But psychophysiology seminars sometimes touched upon touchy subjects and there was never even the slightest nuance of anthropomorphism in his tone or topic. And he always told us, the confidence we would take away from the rat lab would make us able to respond to a crisis of first aid in the future with someone we loved. Again, it seemed odd in the moment. But I thanked him in my prayers each time one of my kids needed stitches. I’m a ball of nerves most of the time and if the power shuts down or the water turned off I have a conniption. But if the little schnauzer gets punctured with a palm needle and begins to bleed out … I’m the goto grandmother for first aid. Deep bow of thanks to the late professor for that gift. Well that and his blue ribbon sweet chili which I’ve adapted over the years to fit our vegetarian preferences.

Meanwhile back at the pond, I tried to figure out how to get a picture of the nature dinner show, but the rocks were too hot for my bare feet. Not to mention the bees favorite landing spot for water was right next to the cattails. So I dashed inside and grabbed an oversized mouse pad and carefully placed it as close to the scene in progress as to not disturb the flight path of the honeybees.

Then I had to remember how to switch the camera on my Moto to manual mode so I could use the macro setting for super close up. I’m not a luddite but my senior moments are now the norm rather than the anomaly. The shot was tricky because the blade the matis was on kept moving in the wind. But I held steady as best I could and just clicked away hoping for one good shot.

I realize most folks take pictures of people and places they go. But since my world is my home .. my pond is my zoo trip. And today was an extraordinary exhibit .. well perhaps not for the dragon. But in shaman wisdom … You become that which consumes you. And this dragon 🐉 will now live the next chapter as a skillful mantis. Moreover, she appears to be getting ready to start her ootheca. The foamy egg sack for next season’s new crew of mantis. She’s on her last days herself and soon the mantis will leave her legacy at the pond … unless of course the western screech who watches the pond from the pine tree cover decides that the mantis should become Owl.

All of us, in one form or another are in our own personal transformation. We’ve had to dig deep to find our center as we navigate the new challenges that 2020 has brought to our front door. And it’s not over by any means. If we’ve learned anything it is that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We are more aware now than perhaps ever before of the thin ice that we have always skated upon but had the privilege to ignore on our good days. But now we face if not only our own mortality also on a deep level our interconnectedness as a world wide community. More of us are feeling the non-local energy as we social distance but feel somehow closer to one another at the same time.

As we are able to take some time to sit peacefully in nature we can replenish our energy reserves. Close your eyes, feel your breath leave your body, touch the earth and turn your face to the sun. You are enough. You are doing enough and you are not only loved but you are love itself. Hold on during these hard days. We are poised for change, it is inevitable.

Of course that’s just one interpretation of the pond unfolding. Could be the orange dragon fly represented a wanna be political dictator and the mantis answered our prayers. Get out and VOTE.