Can someone tell me how it’s already the last day of September??? Where the heck did the month go – I feel like it was just labour day last week.

I’m hoping to get out in the garden this weekend and get a start on several things I need to do before the frost hits. Right now, I’m mostly getting out there to pick raspberries. And when I do, I always take a little stroll around the garden to check on things and check in with my little friends.

Like Gary Grasshopper! These guys fascinate me – I love lookin at all the different parts of their body and how they fit together. Almost like little garden robots.

The Praying Mantises have also been very active

I came out the other day to find this giant lady climbing the glass on the catio door. She eventually climbed up my robin bell that hangs on the door and hung out there for a day or two.

She’s since moved on – I imagine to a better place to catch dinner.

The lady mantises are especially active right now because they looking for good places to make these:

That is a mantis egg case – also known as an ootheca. It has the same texture as spray-foam insulation, and inside are hundreds of baby mantises. It will hang out there all through winter, and when temps hit about 20C in the spring… they will spring forth and descend on my garden! This one is in the purple lilac by the shed. I will most likely find one or two more before spring.

I was checking on the remaining watermelons when I discovered this friend.

The humble grass spider! Tucked away in her funnel web, built at the top of the melon ladder, just waiting for prey to stumble by.

And while most of the butterflies are gone, with mainly just White Cabbages hanging about, I did stumble across this beauty

The Painted Lady. I really only see them late summer into fall here.

But they are definitley a favourite.

And just incase you’re wondering about our Monarch friend…

Still green. So we are still waiting. Tick Tock little Monarch, tick tock…