Two creatures should never attempt to perform on the high wire: elephants and vultures; they're simply not built for it. Beyond graceful in the air, vultures are awkward pedestrians, galumphing along in a kind of hop-waddle. I've watched vultures in the air, in the trees, on every post on the property, but in all these years I've never before seen the vultures attempt to rest on the power lines. They've provided a lot of laughs in the last few days as I watch them miss their landing altogether or teeter as they try to keep their balance.
Vultures are beginning to mass in anticipation of the migration later this month; there were over thirty on the property yesterday. The two resident turkeys on the ground are looking at the vultures on the posts over the garden gate like they were aliens. Everywhere I look there are big black birds of one type or another. Fortunately, there is no competition between the two groups or it could be a battleground to rival Braveheart.
Gathering the milk buckets yesterday, I found this little male praying mantis (the smaller males have that slim abdomen) in the kitchen, evidently on the trail of his lady love. The difference in size made me think of Mickey Rooney when he married Ava Gardner. Playing Cupid, I picked up this skinny guy (Ava also married skinny Frank Sinatra) and put him outside close to where I'd dropped off Ms. Mantis. I'm not sure I've done him any favors because if he meets up with her and she accepts his courting, he will not be long for this world. I've actually seen a mating pair and while they are together for quite a long time, in the end she will turn and quite literally bite off his head. Heck of a way to go.
1 comment:
Maybe if Ms. Mantis is pregnant, she will look on the new fellow as a brother, and "off-with-his-head" won't be on her weekend "to do" list!
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