Porch find: Maimed grasshopper

I swept off my back porch today, delighted to find that the recent rain had cleared away most of the bird mess left below my feeders... When I was sweeping off brush, leaves, seed pods, and stink bugs (ick), I saw something bright green and stopped to examine it. 

What I found was this poor little guy. It clung to the porch, so I ran to get my camera (of course!). I noticed that it only had one back leg while I was taking pictures. It's remarkable how these little guys survive with fewer limbs than intended.

Beetle beat

I found this little guy in my mulch one day when I got out of the car. I was carrying in groceries, but I ran in to grab my camera so I could get a shot before it went away.

According to my entomologist friend, this is a spotted pelidnota or grapevine beetle, which is a cousin of the Japanese beetle.

It's fun to find things like this out of the blue. I know I probably should have begun paying closer attention to nature earlier in my life, but I guess what matters is that I'm doing it now!

Adorned web

 So I didn't get to post during September. It was a busy month for sure. I did get to take in the splendor of my backyard in its gradual change from summer to autumn. With the exception of the rain (read: cold and rainy for four days straight), autumn crept in gracefully.

The spiders on my back porch have been quite active again. The first picture shows what I saw one morning. The beautiful display got me to come closer (after grabbing my camera, of course!). Dew drops were strung like beads on this most perfect web. I was really glad I got to see it like this before the dew evaporated. 

The big maple tree behind the web (out in my yard) is all orange and yellow now... These photos were from a few weeks ago. Hopefully I'll get to take some autumn photos soon.