New Snow

 Happy New Year, Insect Enthusiasts!

Yes, I know, we're a week into it, but that's still pretty new. A year is not like a pair of white shoes, which stop being new after you've worn them once. A year is still new for a few weeks at least. I haven't written any checks yet, but I am pretty sure if I did write one, my first instinct would be to write 2021 on it. Actually, I almost labeled my picture files for today as 2021. And then after I caught myself I almost labeled several files from November and December as 2022. That confusion means it's still a new year.

Anyway, new year, first snow of the year, and so I had to go out for a walk in the woods even though I knew it would hurt my injured knee (it wasn't too bad. It's just a little bit achy now). I looked for bugs, not really expecting to find much, because it was barely above freezing, but I knew there was a chance, because it was sunny, and it was, after all, above freezing. Sometimes the key is knowing exactly where to look, so when I was almost back to the house I checked a couple of trees that are popular hangouts for snow fleas, and...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Snow flea. Obviously. Not on snow, but trust me, there is snow all around this tree.

Snow fleas are tiny, and hard to see unless there are a lot of them crowded together, which was not the case today. But many things are easier to see if you just know to look in the right place.

Anyway, Happy New Year!