Questioning Myself

I'll be honest. I didn't look that hard for bugs today. That's because I didn't want to be outside. The temperature was barely above freezing, and the wind made it feel much, much colder than that, and I just didn't want to look for bugs, because I didn't think there would be any out there. I'm starting to think I am crazy to still be doing this, but now I am so curious about when the point will be reached that the entire backyard has gone dormant for the winter that I can't not go out to see. Cursed curiosity! I did look in the obvious places, and the reliable places, and then I decided that the one bug that I found was enough for the day.

And here it is. The one bug:

It turns out that the flies are the hardiest of the bugs in the backyard. The last bugs standing. And this actually isn't the only one, it's just the only one I got a picture of. I should also mention that flies are the only bugs I saw, but the crickets are still singing down by the bedrock (which is where this fly was, too). There are probably other bugs out and about around the bedrock, hiding in the fallen leaves, I just didn't see them. It's funny that the flies are toughing it out in our early winter weather, when I think of flies as a summer bug. You know, the reason we have screen doors.

This caught my eye today, and even though I know it's not a flower, I am calling this the Backyard Bud of the Day:

 It looks like the moss is getting ready to release its spores. I have never paid a lot of attention to moss, even though I think it's pretty, so it's surprising to me that this would happen in the winter/late fall. I would think it would be a summer or spring thing. Keep learning...

I checked up on the spider under the rain gauge today, and she was there, and posing for a better picture, so here's Arachnid Appreciation:
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Cute, isn't she?