The Final Act

She has lived her life, built her ootheca and laid her eggs. All that is left now is to climb to a high place. Climbing is difficult. She is exhausted and must take a long rest after every two or three steps. I don’t know why the females have this urge to climb when their work is done.

To her left is an ootheca from many years ago. They stay in place for a long time, gathering moss and lichens. Her own ootheca is number 24 of this year’s count.