Susan, I love those mantises. They are funny, they turn their heads to look at you. We used to keep one in the science room and fed it crickets.

Susan, you could tell people it was a giant mantis flying over your house, and this was its shadow. :-)

all very beautiful pictures today TY everyone

Today my wife rode in a horse show that was sponsored by a local high-end saddle maker. It was her first show on her younger horse Brooklyn since February when the horse was injured.

The show consisted of a round of "Hunters" (where the horse is judged on on how well it moves while jumping the course) and round of "Equitation" (where the rider is judged on how well she rides a more difficult course of jumps) and a written portion that had to be completed by the day before the show. She got second place in the Hunter round, fourth place in the Equitation round and with the points from the written portion, she ended up in first place overall.

Bob, thanks for sharing your wife's great success. I know it was enjoyed by many here. Congratulations to her.

Convey my congratulations to your wife Bob. She looks quite at home in the saddle. Pretty horse.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing the photo, too. Both horse and wife are beauties.

Bob....what a life you lead! Congrats on the win!

Thanks all. I'm proud of how well she did, and happy her horse seems to be recovered, but I'm a little ambivalent about her winning half-off of the saddle. The grand prize is nothing unless you actually buy the saddle, and since it is a custom fit, new design by a top saddle maker, even at half-off the saddle is still pretty expensive.

That's like getting a gift card as a gift that you'd never use. Hmmm in this case it doesn't cost the sponsor a penny. Bob, Brooklyn is absolutely stunning.

Spectacular, what a gorgeous scenic hike.