'Tis Autumn!

Milkweed pods are opening and their seeds are sailing away on silky fluff! We had a bumper crop this year, though I saw very few Monarch butterflies. I just saw an article about saving Milkweed seeds to plant for Monarchs, so maybe I will add them to my seed harvest and give them away.

The pods split and all the seeds emerge. We used to call the floating things "money catchers" when we were children. 

This Praying Mantis in the Miscanthus grass seems to be asking in a Jersey tone, "Whaddaya lookin' at?" I'm hoping to see a lot of egg cases on the shrubbery when the leaves drop. They favor the Forsythia bush, maybe because the early blooms attract little bugs for the Mantis nymphs to feed on.

Another Fall activity is crocheting hats. This batch is going to Crescent Presbyterian Church for their holiday distribution.

It's fun to create textures from just a strand of yarn. Fourteen hats donated so far, aiming for at least 25.