Reflections on the Fourth Week of Fall

After a hard frost, ladybugs swarmed doors, windows, and log walls in search of entrances to our warm house. I carefully picked two off the sliding glass door and tossed them outside. Twenty-two zoomed in while the door was open. I gathered them–not caring if a few squished even though squished ladybugs emit an acrid odor. I took photos and found a comma butterfly with its wings closed against the wind. (Its name comes from the white comma on the brown undersides.) When a ladybug crawled over the butterfly's foot, the butterfly fluttered its wings, and I got a glimpse of its orange top. Coming back inside was a problem. To dislodge the ladybugs from the front door, I opened it a crack and slammed hard. Twice. The bugs flew off the door but onto me. I brushed and stomped. Some bugs crawled under my turtleneck and tickled my skin. Spence said, “You'd think the wind would blow these little buggers away.” The buggers landed on George when he took his deck exercise. “Don't eat them,” Spence warned. The invasion continued through the night. As he tried to sleep, ladybugs dive-bombed Spence.