So there I was, minding my own business on Friday afternoon and dicking around on the computer, when the maid started calling me from the living room. She never calls me unless she wants to show me the latest thing she has broken, so I feared the worst; but instead of destruction she pointed out a mat next to the patio.
“Yes, nice mat”, I agreed; but that did not placate her so I looked again and on the mat was a praying mantis. Ace! I have always wanted to see one of these. With a degree of stealth born from days months years of training in the boy scouts, I crept up on it and caught in a kitchen container.
Next to set up a suitable area to photograph it without it flying away. High plastic walls surrounding a bush imported from the balcony would serve the purpose. While I was setting this up, the maid was fretting about the condition of the mantis which was in an airtight container. “It will have no air to breathe Khun Spike” she nagged, while I silently calculated that there was enough air in the container to keep the beast breathing for at least a week. Other than her inability to calculate insect oxygen requirements, I didn’t understand why she is fretting; she is happy enough to eat her own weight in fried insects given the opportunity.
Finally, mantis met bush and I fired off a few shots, a couple of which I put in the last post. Here a couple more:
So there I was, spending quality time with my insect guest, when an SMS arrives. It’s from she who must be obeyed, telling me her planned holiday on Sunday has been moved to Saturday and to get my arse to Bangkok forthwith (she phrased it differently). So I liberated the mantis, returned the plant to its approximate position on the balcony, stuck a couple of photos on a blog post, and headed off to Bangkok at the start of rush hour.
Crappy trip in the rain with idiot drivers, including one who double parked and blocked my car when I stopped for a pee on the motorway; twat. But finally arrived in Bangkok and had a very pleasant day and a bit with my wife. Such was my rush to leave home, I forgot to bring a camera, and so of course there were plenty of photo opportunities that I missed. Arrived home yesterday afternoon, and vowed to get up early today and go take some photos. But that’s another story.