Mystery Solved!

Well, sometimes I read too much. Jocelyn picked up a magazine about the Blue Ridge area and there was an article in it about a hiker who was bitten by a rattlesnake. He detailed his ordeal of suffering and eventual recovery from the snakebite.

That night I was awakened by a distinct "rattling" and immediately thought we had a snake in the motorhome. But I couldn't imagine how one would get in and thought it was my imagination. Then I heard it again. This time I noticed that Bailey, who normally sleeps on the couch, was laying on the floor right next to the bed. That is strange, so I figured that Bailey heard the same noise and sought out me for safety.

I told Terry about it the next morning and he didn't believe me. As I was working inside and he was outside, the rattle sounded again. I ran out the door to tell him. As I came back in, I heard it again, but he followed me in and heard nothing, of course. He said it was a cricket. . . nope, I know what they sound like and it wasn't a cricket.

A few nights before I was watching TV in bed late and Terry was asleep. As I lay there with only the light of the TV, I saw something fly through the room. I jumped up and turned on all the lights and woke Terry up, explaining what I just saw. We started searching. I actually thought it was the size of a hummingbird. We looked and looked. Couldn't find anything. As I was picking up the blankets, I caught something green out of the corner of my eye. There resting on the underneath side of the counter was a Katydid! Terry scooped up the little green guy and took him outside and let him loose.

As we were in the car getting ready to leave the next morning, we looked up to see a praying mantis on the back of the motorhome. I got out and found a twig and moved him to the outside and he flew away.

Back to the rattle. . . This morning it sounded loud and clear and Terry heard it. After we had the one katydid a few days ago, he became convinced we had another one. I downloaded the sound of a katydid on my computer and became certain as well that another was in our midst. I was washing the breakfast dishes and saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked to the floor and there sat another katydid, having fallen apparently from the air conditioning duct in the ceiling. This time I gently pinched his wings together and tossed him outside. So hopefully, our noises are gone now and the katydids are outside where they belong.

Till next time. . .

Dale