Lovely December Weather in October

Is it strange that I am more surprised that I found bugs today than that it snowed? It was just flurries, but for some reason that wasn't surprising - even if it was rather appalling. But with a freeze last night, and a high of about 43ºF, I didn't expect to find any bugs today.

 There was frost on the ground this morning. I didn't even bother looking for bugs then. It was 34ºF when this was taken, around 9:30 in the morning.

Later I looked out the window and saw a lot of birds feeding on the lawn:

 Blue jays...

 Tufted tit-mouse... Is the plural for that tufted tit-mice?

 ... juncos... Also called snowbirds... I don't know what the birds were eating. Bugs? Seeds? It is not a usual sight to see so many birds feeding on the grass. I don't know if it was a weather thing, or does it have something to do with the fact that I mowed the lawn yesterday? The birds have also lately been enjoying the various kinds of berries that are available in the backyard lately, most notably on the Virginia creeper and dogwood trees. But today there was something in the grass that was the big attraction.

It turns out I didn't have to look very hard to find bugs. There was one right on the storm door when I went out:

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This weevil was so small I had to look really closely to see if it was even a bug, and not just a speck on a leaf.

Random Bugs:

 I really didn't have to go far to find bugs - this small milkweed bug was on the back porch. I saw it as soon as I walked out the door. I don't know what that drop of yellow liquid is near its head, if it is oozing something, or if that is a drop of something that landed on it.

The two assassin bugs from yesterday were both in the exact same places:

 Really tiny larva

If you read this blog last winter you may remember the cricket that lived under a board that was lying on the lawn all winter. Well, that board is gone, but there is another one in the same general area (a certain person around here loses steam on projects around the cleaning up phase), and I looked under it to find...

 ... another cricket. Great. So now I feel like I have to leave that board sitting there all winter.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I found a spider, a six-spotted orb weaver, but I can't tell if it's alive...