Praying Mantis

I had an encounter with a praying mantis this morning. I slept in the truck in the truck stop in Grover last night. After I got up this morning and dropped my trailer, I pulled over to a trash can to toss out some bags. I immediately noticed a praying mantis on the trash can, who turned to look at me and watched me as I tossed out my trash. I said hello, and she rocked back and forth as I neared her. I've read that this means she's getting ready to attack. Wow. What ambition.

She also did something else that I didn't understand. She leaned down and put her head no the surface of the trash can. At first I thought she was sipping water from some of the morning water droplets. But she did this a few times where there was no water, and was facing me each time. Dunno what this means, but it was interesting behavior.

Anyway, I thought it was cool to encounter a mantis. I've always had a fondness for them. Some people believe that if you are lost, and you see a mantis, you should go in the direction it is facing, and that will lead you home. So I did.