Praying Mantis

Sometimes life goes in a straight line, like a road. The passing of the seasons shows the cyclical nature of life. It is the beginning of October and the leaves are starting to turn color.

It's that time of year again when bugs like to hang out in the sun on the south side of the house. I found this praying mantis soaking up the sun and cleaning its foot. My presence didn't bother it at all. A praying mantis is a rare sight. We have concord grapes in our yard this year, and Alfonze says that praying manti like to hunt on grape vines.

October is also the last month of our real estate sales contract. We have our house on the market and are planning on moving to Florida. The market is slow and I'm getting ready to hunker down for another long Michigan winter. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about Michigan. We are actually in sort of a garden spot near Lake Erie where lake effect weather sends storms away from us. Southeastern Michigan is a lot warmer than even central Michigan. I want to enjoy what this region has to offer while I'm still here. I want to go back up north to the U.P. I'd also like to see some of the sights in western Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline.