Her legs are caught up in the molt, so she can’t stand, so I asked a son to try to intervene. ‘She’s still in the process,’ he says, so we leave her alone. She had a little water, and maybe by tomorrow, will be livelier, and of course, lots bigger.

Jeff comments:

yeah, no dice on the tweezers. so don’t freak out, squeamish fellow mantis-raisers. there was no damage done, i couldn’t get any of the old skin off

She did seem to hate the touch of metal.

For whatever reason, she doesn’t perch on a twig to molt, but lies on her side. Good thing she’s not out there in the backyard. But this molt is taking a long, long time, as in several days.

To go with the roast lamb.

But not simultaneously, since each event requires the entrant’s undivided attention. It has to be the Redneck Games in East Dublin, Georgia, The more uppity folks have stopped sneering, because the Games provide a big boost to the area’s economy.

I’ve forgotten the name of this rose, but the bud is orange.

Many are cooking at this moment, and many will be consumed during this long weekend.

A look at an unusual source of music, and the art of unique music covers , from Russell Smith at the Globe and Mail.

In the Pacific near Iwo Jima, a plume of water vapor rises 3000 feet in the air. Japanese officials say it is probably an underwater eruption , and point out that a helicopter flyover showed the ocean glowing afterward.