The first thing that caught my eye on the way to Beechwood today was an addition to the big figure 8 that's been on the bike path for a while. It now features a couple of bright yellow embellishments:

I assumed it was just kids having a laugh (hey, it made me laugh) but later I saw a surveyor at work further along the path, and I couldn't help noticing the fresh markings he'd made on the pavement. In bright yellow paint. Hm.

Remember the patch of Japanese knotweed across the path that was cut down a little while ago? As expected, it's staging a comeback:

I'll try to knock it back once more before the end of the year. Today I got rid of some more tansy -- I'm feeling pleased with the amount of tansy I've dealt with this summer! -- then amused myself by removing some dog-strangling vine. I didn't dig it up, just pulled off what I could, even painstakingly unwinding it from a young sumac; this won't make much difference to the big picture, but at least those particular seedpods won't be spreading their fluff around.

I discovered another empty nest today. It doesn't look very comfy:

One problem with having the goldenrod rising all around and above me: ANTS!

Here's a stinkbug on a cup plant. Honestly, can't we find a better name for these guys? They're such a cool shape.

And have I mentioned the spiders? Can you stand a few more?

They like to build webs around/in the holes in the fenceposts. There's one lurking here at the base of its large, complex home: