Sunday, September 10, 2006

A Bonus in the Ivy


I went out to photograph the ivy buds today and found a bonus. Do you see the tiny praying mantis? That little baby, only 1" long, was very curious about what I was doing; his eyes followed my every move, but he didn't seem scared. He sat still and posed just for me.

Have you ever seen ivy bloom like this? Until two years ago, I had not ever seen that. The first time my ivy budded, I thought there was something wrong with it.....lol. I asked a horticulturalist friend and she said it happens to "mature" ivy. Mine qualifies for that, I guess. It has been growing here on this fence for 24 years, and as you can see, it has formed a dense mat which very little can penetrate. Before long, those tiny buds will open in a profusion of pale yellowish blooms, and will eventually drop seed all over my deck - where it can not do what it is meant to - make new plants.



I wonder if it knows it is blooming for nothing?




Please take a moment today to remember the people who died in the attacks on 9/11. We must never forget.
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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michele sent me.... remembring 911 is chilling.

Susie said...

I've never seen blooming ivy...
You're right, we must never forget 9/11

Eddie said...

Great shots of the praying mantis and the little buds that probably don't know they are a wasted effort.

Anonymous said...

In all these years, I've never seen an Ivy bloom! great shot!

And yes, we will remember. :)

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful pic and a very cute praying mantis!

Remember 9/11... yes indeed, I am.

Raggedy said...

Nice pictures.
We will never forget.
Huge Hugs

Beverly said...

I didn't see the praying mantis until I looked at the second picture. They're neat creatures.

Thanks for sharing that prayer. When our emotions were so raw that weekend, those words were truly the prayer on everyone's heart. And it is just as powerful today.

Even though it is copywrited, on his website, Max Lucado encourages that it be copied and sent to anyone who desires to use it.

I'll be back to read your other posts later today. You always give me a chuckle.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Beautiful flowers!
Certainly the world will never forget that tragedy!

justrose said...

gorgeous pictures kenju. it is very sweet when bugs observe our tasks, and they often do.

and of course i'm remembering.

brendalove@gmail.com said...

The woods behind my house are having a kudzu infestation. I'm not sure if anything can be done about it, as it is on a wide scale.

brendalove@gmail.com said...

I'm also not sure if the first sentence in my last comment is grammatically correct.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy ~ Lovely photo of your ivy in bloom with the little praying mantis.
Were there lovely flamingos dead?
Thank you so much for your kind words on my tribute post. Peter has now put a photo on for me. Such a terrible day
in the history of the world, and we pray
that it never happens again. Hope your back is OK Take care,Love Merle.

srp said...

No, I have never seen ivy bloom before. And your little friend is indeed very cute.

Pirate said...

what a nice surprise.

Anonymous said...

I have never seen ivy do this! But then again, I have never been in one area for any length of time in my life!
I envy folks who ahve deep roots planted somewhere. :)
Tho it is a somber day...may your heart feel full today, Judy.

Shephard said...

hmmm... ya know, I don't know if I've ever seen blooming ivy either. I hope you'll take photos of the blooms too! Be interesting to see.

~S :)

goldenlucyd said...

I love your mind, Judy. Now I'm feeling sorry for the poor ivy fruitlessly spewing its seed. The preceding posts were delicious as usual.

amarkonmywall said...

Ivy is one of those plants that it prolific and persistent enough that it doesn't need to be setting seed or any other sexy thing. I like your little Mantis guy- I haven't seen a full grown one for too long. So look for one of those, please.

On a serious note, today is the anniversary of a day we need to remember and lessons we need to learn.

fakies said...

Love the ivy pics. I just got an e-mail yesterday from someone commenting on seeing a praying mantis. Unfortunately, we don't have them around here.