And the Winner of "Guess the Blob" Contest is........

Do you know who sort of guessed the Mystery Blob in my photo yesterday?  I'll give you a hint:  She is the biggest SmartyPants EVER and she knows like everything about goats and turkeys and stuff. AND she has a farm. And some laughing ducks. 

Melodie from Laughing Duck Farm!
(this is not really a photo of Melodie--she wears a bathing suit when she swims)

Maybe it's that Texas heat that fires up her thinkin' skills, but girlfriend figured out what this is:

She originally guessed that it was a praying mantis nest.  And then she guessed again saying it was bug poop or perhaps a bug egg sack.  While the poop was NOT a good guess, the bug egg sack is CORRECT!

This is a praying mantis egg case (or sack) known as an ootheca.  The female praying mantis creates this foamy stuff to surround her eggs for protection.  It  hardens after a bit and you can find them attached to stems of plants. Come spring, this bad boy will release a bunch of little baby praying mantids.  I've heard that these little buggars will eat their siblings to survive--which makes for a great story for your kids--you know, it messes with their wee heads a bit.

I was doing some gardening when I found two of these on our butterfly bush--which is very exciting in my book.  Of course, nobody in my family thinks this is as exciting as I do, but they all humor me and come running over to see it.  Well, except the cats--they don't find anything exciting.

It is small--about the size of a quarter or maybe a 50 cent piece and it is very light--like styrofoam.  It is vulnerable to wasps and so I may be cutting the branch and saving it in the shed for winter.  I'd love to see those little ones hatching come spring time. I'm like that about frogs and bugs and such--it's life and I feel the need to protect it. Once a mom.....you know.

Thanks for all the wacky guesses, pallies. You are definitely some creative guessers!

And if you think she's cute, wait until you see the babies!