Well I Never!

A praying mantis nymph inspecting its cast skin. Perhaps, like me, it is amazed that it emerged from there.

Late this afternoon we had a spectacular thunderstorm. It started with a rumbling over the mountains, but then it came closer. For the best part of an hour the lightening flashes were seconds apart and the rolling thunder was continuous. The storm came very close. One thunderclap sounded as though it was ripping the roof. Hail larger than fat peas pelted us for a while, and then the rain set in. It was just like West Coast rain- huge drops densely packed. Sheets of water quickly formed on the lawns. My rain gauge measured 31mm in an hour. What with the thunder and the rain on the roof it was very loud.