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Even when you get “old,” stay young on the inside; it’s the only way to be! (So many adults lose their child-like wonder and deep inquisitiveness as they age… and they turn to stone on the inside. It needn’t be that way!)
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[Top photo: Young Praying Mantis wandering near a creek in our area, in the age-old quest for nourishing prey. It has a splendid eye pattern! Below that is a photo of a young Praying Mantis preserved as a fossil; it is trapped in Baltic Amber; it was trapped in the sap (which hardened into amber) around 50 million years ago! (To give a little perspective, at around 50 million years ago, our human ancestors were around the size of chipmunks or squirrels… and probably would relish a meal of a tasty mantis.) So it’s a very old Mantis… even though it actually appears to be very young. (It’s your real essence that counts… not what you “appear” to be!) 😉 ]
Young Praying Mantis searching for its next meal. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Young Praying Mantis fossil (in Baltic Amber). 50 million years is a long time to stay in one position! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Wow.., amazing pictures.
Thanks very much! 🙂
Love the mantis in amber. Never seen one like that.. impressive!
I’ve collected fossils for years. My amber collection is limited; but I do have some nice pieces. eBay sells a lot of nice pieces (and crappy pieces too). If you get any, you must have a powerful magnifying glass; 20 to 30x. You can do a search on “Baltic Amber” or “Dominican amber” or “Columbian copal” or “Madagascar copal” or…for even older specimens (from the dinosaur era) Burmite amber. Another excellent site to look around is: ambertreasure4u.com
Thanks for the info! I’ll have to look into it because it would be neat to have piece of history frozen in time.
Wonderful pictures, Tom, and:
“A heart in love with beauty never grows old/“ ~ Turkish Proverb.