Birthday Critters

My 13-year-old son just gave me one of my favorite birthday presents ever.

No fancy perfume for this mom.  I got...



Ever the practical kid, J ordered these because I've been lamenting the fact that bugs are eating my roses.  Not any more.  Within a few weeks, the literature says,  this egg case will hatch "about 100-200 tiny mantises, all at once."  I especially love the way Gardeners Supply Company describes the praying mantises' promise to wreak havoc on garden pests. 

"Being strictly carnivoro