all paws on deck

 The season is marching on and I love it.  Some leaves are starting to turn!

The trail is lined with White Snakeroot, a sure sign of fall.

Bees, moths, and butterflies are active much later in the morning because of the chill.  You see them clinging to the bottoms of leaves and flowers, waiting for the temperature to rise.

Praying mantises are really active in the fall.  This is a rarely-seen Carolina Mantis, a native to Indiana.  We've tried to cull as many of the invasive Chinese Mantises as possible, since they will actually eat our native mantises.  

terrible cell phone pic

The fall asters are out!

blue wood aster

Acorns, too.

More caterpillars!!

imperial moth caterpillar

mottled prominent caterpillar

This looks like a caterpillar, but it's a sawfly larva.

Fall berries, too!

American spikenard

maple leaf viburnum

There are even some pre-Halloween ghosts out and about!

I'm doing my part.

brown butter maple pumpkin cookies

I'm even putting up Halloween decorations this week, although very slowly because of the pinched nerve in my back.  At least I'm still able to take my daily walk...

Pepita slipping her harness and dashing for the car...again.

The cats are doing the usual.  Helping.

Calliope 'helping' me with yoga

The Barnacle 'helping' me with photography

Frances 'helping' me sort clothes

I appreciate the extra hands...or paws.

Another week, another step closer to my favorite season!