August is a time for “monster gardening”. It’s not just gardening of the, well, garden variety. No, this is a time of monsterously insurmountable tasks. I am preparing the roses for fall, clearing dead debris from the garden, assessing what bulbs need to be planted for next spring.

I do these things with joy and love. Today I spent an hour in the midday sun removing the remains of summer from my west garden. If that sounds too elitist for you, then I was removing the columbine from beneath the redbud tree.

As I cleared the last of the greens from the spent crowns I saw a praying mantis in the last hours of her life. Her skin was brown and cracked and her eyes were pale, but they looked at me with terror.

I realized that I had cleared her future generations with the greenery, as she had probably placed her eggs in the protecting leaves. It made me want to empty the brown refuse bag and recover her legacy.

I am the monster asking the mantis for her forgiveness, but now I can’t even find her.