
Oooh, pretty!
Praying mantis! And so well camouflaged in salvia!

Those were my first thoughts.

Though I chose not to publish these photos previously because they disturb me,

they perfectly illustrate the ephemeral beauty of nature and fleeting quality of life and experience since living requires eating.

The honey bee is caught,

savored,

beheaded

and further savored…

and I had to walk away from breathtaking wonder in revulsion despite accepting that the bee is the mantis. We are each bee and mantis, simultaneously, our moments just as fleeting.