Dandy

I was sure that today was going to be That Day. Not that it was all that cold - it was 40ºF when I went outside (and in the 30s by the time I went back inside), and there have been much colder days. But aside from Rain Gauge Spider (who might just be immortal. I can't imagine what she's finding to eat) I just could not find anything of any species of arthropod whatsoever. It felt like I was outside for a long time, though it couldn't have been too long, because the dishwasher was still running when I went back inside, and the cycle lasts 70 minutes. Still, it was cold, and unpleasant, and at a certain point you just don't feel like being cold.

The weird thing is that I found this:

 I have seen dandelions in December before, but I think they're out of luck if they are hoping for a pollinator to come along.

 Most of the flowers in the yard look like this now.

So, finding a flower in bloom was a tiny pleasure, but I was just not in the mood for looking for bugs today. And it really is hard to look for bugs when you have to watch your step at all times to avoid stepping in animal excrement (seriously, I need the dung beetles to come back). But I can't just look around the backyard for two minutes and say, "Eh, there's nothing out here, might as well go back in," I have to check everywhere. And toward the end, I pushed aside that piece of wood again.

The cricket is not in diapause.

 I know this because...

 While I was looking at it it turned around.

There were a lot of other things living under that board that were alive and kicking today, none of them but the cricket were insects, the others were other kinds of arthropods, and most were creepy, but the all scurried away too fast for me to get picture. The point is, they are still alive and active. I suppose the board provides some insulation from the cold, but it can't be much.

And there was one fly on the side of the house. Ooh.

So that's it. Tomorrow is supposed to be 'milder,' in weatherman parlance, but will there be more bugs? Who knows? It might also snow - we had flurries today, and another version of the forecast says that will happen. Every day now I just wait and see.