It's got the feeling of sub-par...

...written all over it. Something about the late heat, coupled with the huge winds and rain we've had, lead me to believe the colors will be somewhat mediocre this year. We have our fall photo shoot scheduled with our daughter next week. Here's hoping we can find the color.

Won't be long now

Gorgeous fall day today, but there was wind moving the early dead off of trees. Time for us northerners to stock up on furnace filters, ice melt, and Hershey bars (for roadside emergency kits (to be eaten when there are no sweets in the house (leaving an unsuspecting spouse to perish of starvation in a ditch during some sort of superstorm))). Our days are numbered, and the squirrels know it. They are working extra hard, building up stores of walnuts and fat.

The cicadas blur...

This is a photo of the cicada rebirth of a year ago. We have seen the empty suits of the cicadas this year, but have yet to catch them in the process of crawling to a tree and shedding their walking clothes. It is one of the oddest things to see up close. You can't determine if there is mating or fighting going on.

Dog Day Cicada here in Wisconsin (genus Tibicen); supposedly we were to get the 17-year this year. Have yet to see them, here, though (perhaps we missed them).