In Panama, unless you live in a highrise condominium, your house probably has one of these…
In the States we’d call it a “utility sink.” Here in Panama it’s called a “lavadero.” They’re as common as a plate of rice and beans at a fonda.
Yesterday afternoon while I was out trying to get a shot of the little bird who was the first to leave the nest I noticed something odd on the left-hand leg of the lavadero. At first I thought it was something that a large bird might have dropped by accident while trying to build a nest somewhere. A lot bigger bird than the ones I’ve already shown.
At first I didn’t pay it any attention. That is until I went to brush it away and it moved!
It was a stick creature. The name is absolutely accurate. Overall, from the tip of its antennae to the bottom of its abdomen it was at least 10″ long. (That’s 25.4 centimeters for you people who are challenged counting in units other than base 10.)
Totally cool once you get over the shock. I just left it alone. It wasn’t bothering anyone and it was way too big for momma bird to feed to her babies.
One More Good Adventure 
It’s wonderful! I’ve only seen one walking stick in my life, and it was just as much of a surprise as this one was for you.
I got curious about what the babies look like. They actually look just like this one, only smaller. Duh.
This is totally cool – thanks for posting. If you’d found it down by the river, would it have been right to call it a stick-in-the-mud? 😉
The thing was HUGE! But very, very interesting. Stayed there for several hours without moving.
Of course it didn’t move! Can you imagine how much trouble it would be to get around with those long legs? That’s no easy proposition, I don’t think!