thing i saw

This morning I saw two things I don’t normally see. Actually I saw two things I’ve never seen before.

Thing I saw number one: a skunk in our backyard. I was getting ready to leave for work and went to close my bedroom window (in case it rains today). I’ve been sleeping with the window open to see if more oxygen in my bedroom will help me sleep better. It doesn’t really matter because either way I sleep like a baby and don’t like waking up in the morning. At least with the window open I wake up to a cool, outdoorsy-morning-smelling bedroom. Anyway, I looked out the window and there was a skunk walking along the fence. I’ve seen skunks before but never this close and definitely never in my backyard. This one had white stripes on the side, not down the back like you see in cartoons. It looked like it was trying to find an opening in the fence to go into the neighbor’s backyard. Dumb-ass skunk would stick his head into a hole only to realize the rest of its chubby body wouldn’t fit. I hope it’s not there when I get home.

Thing I saw number two: a praying mantis at work. As I was about to pull open the door to our building I saw a green thing scurrying along the ground. It was a freakin praying mantis. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a praying mantis outside a zoo or museum or glass case or textbook or nature show. I’ve never seen one while camping or hiking or trail running. I shoulda pulled out my camera and taken a picture. But in my morning daze and crankiness I was all like, “get out of my way stupid praying mantis before I step on you.”