Dracula makes a pre-Halloween visit to the Upstate

The hurricane in Florida didn't cause more than a heavy rainstorm here in the Upstate, but it ushered in a brief period of blissfully cool weather.  Just enough to get a few leaves to start changing...

...a few days of heavy dew...

...and a certain fall-loving girl very, very excited!  Thankfully we didn't have any real damage from the wind and rain, mainly minor leaf debris.

Once the storm had passed, I went into action.  I switched out my summer fabrics in the living room, took down the "summer" fireplace mantel and put up the fall-themed one, and gathered tons of acorns to make some fall centerpieces.

I put away my summer clothes, pulled out the flannel sheets and blankets and started washing...and it was back to 88 degrees within 3 days, with no end in sight.  ARGH!

On the positive side, we've still got some late-season flowers blooming here.

Some absolutely gorgeous spider webs, mostly occupied.

Lots of activity.  Our anoles are still out and about.

Look at the back of this leaf hopper.  Do you see a face too?  Perhaps a horned devil?  Maybe I've been reading too many books!  I've had trouble finding much information about this, other than a few vague references to it being a "Dracula" leafhopper, because of the face in the "coffin" of wings and the fact that it's a sucking insect...although it sucks sap, not blood.

Typical for the fall, we see the deer every night.

And our solitary beaver has taken a wife!

They're very active at dusk, nibbling on the green shoots and branches at the pond's edge.

This is, of course, one of the busiest times for squirrels, too.

I'm going to take comfort in these signs of fall and try to be patient for cooler weather.  Have a great week!