Little Culprit

I guess if I was concerned with having a perfectly groomed garden, this would bother me.  But I garden for wildlife, so when I find something eating what I've planted, I usually just smile to myself and say "job well done."  This tiny little muncher is a Spotted Cucumber Beetle, about .5 cm long, and is native to N. America.  It is also considered by farmers to be a significant crop pest.  As for me, well, I see a few throughout the late summer/fall, but never enough to give me pause for concern.  They can be a little challenging to photograph because they like to play "run around the petal" always seeming to stay out of camera range.  The cooler temps today worked to my advantage.  As did a monopod and an extension tube.

Hubs and I spent a rather nice morning having a leisurely brunch, running some errands and going to a classic car show.  Very fun and relaxing for both of us.  We've both been hammered by allergies of late so energy has been lagging.  Hubs took a short nap when we got home then worked on the motor home for a while.  

As for me, I finally got in gear to upload a bunch of photos to Adobe Photo Stock.  I actually am surprised at how frequently I sell things through Adobe's stock service.  Top sellers have always been the cardinal shots, but I wanted to diversify and include some imaged from Costa Rica.  It's a tedious process which is why I've been procrastinating.

As I write this, windows open, I can hear chipmunks all around the back garden, chipping vigorously  as they defend their burrows ahead of winter.  Occasionally I can hear a little scuffle and a bunch of furious squeaks, which means a turf war has erupted. 

We just narrowly avoided a frost last night, for which I am so grateful as it would have killed the remaining flowers in the garden...and I'm just not ready to give up my pollinators yet.  

Enough rambling.  I'm off to upload a few more photos to Adobe.  

xo
Debbi