Last evening after we returned home from an amazingly fun Decemberists show (and as an aside, if you can, you should go see them!), Don went out to water Rancho Farmo (what? you don’t water your garden at 12.30am?).

I was sitting inside tooling around on teh internets (as I’m wont to do), when Don called me outside, to show me this:

The biggest stick-insect I have every seen in my life. He resembled a very slender lobster. I was rather thankful we are well supplied in the fly-screen department!

This morning we initially thought he’d vanished, but he’d just wandered about the railing a bit. We’ve named him Sticky. Some people apparently keep them as pets, we prefer our giant insects to be free range.

Close up! Isn’t he pretty?

For scale. Yes, that is a 30cm (12 inch) ruler.

Sticky was chillin’ the same spot this afternoon, not having moved a great deal. I hope he sticks (ha!) around, because he’s rather endearing. Although if he starts chowing down on the contents of Rancho Farmo he’ll be encouraged to move on.

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