Why I’ll Miss Being Able to Walk to Work

In the morning, admiring the flowers that lit up the otherwise less-than-thrilling sidewalks and byways, I spied a couple of animals I don’t usually expect to see hanging out on black-eyed Susans.

The first is at least an insect:

-But the second is one of those rare land-dwelling crustaceans, the wood louse…

…also known as the potato bug, pill bug, or roly-poly, depending on where and how you grew up. (Did you know it was a terrestrial crustacean? Isn’t that cool? It’s a kind of isopod, which will mean something to beachcombers but probably no one else.)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen traversing a blossom before.

And on my way home to work I spotted this lovely creature hanging out on a (morning glory?) growing on a chain-link fence:

There’s nothing like a little urban wildlife—coupled with the smug sensation of being the only one to have spotted it—to improve one’s commute.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}