I need a cameraphone

I started off the the day today with a woodpecker going to town on a fence post just outside our house. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of that. And when I was leaving work today, I discovered a praying mantis on the windshield of my car. And a headless one at that. It's not every day that a headless praying mantis drops into your life, literally.

I was reminded of high school biology as I watched this headless insect body dance around and try desperately to cling to my car as I headed towards the interstate to begin my long commute home. Admittedly, at first I thought it was simply the air moving over my car as I drove, but then I remembered Mr. Siwinski's biology class. Unlike us primates and vertibrates, insects and arthropods basically spread their "brains" thoughout their bodies. So, even sans head, this little fella could still dance around with the best of them.

Yes, I do have an absolute facination with the world of nature surrounding us. I think part of that facination comes from the fact that I was completely seperated from it as a child, growing up in Baltimore city. The closest thing to wildlife in the city is rats, and they are more just third-class citizens then actual wildlife.