Enjoying nature on a beautiful fall morning

And then there was light!

                          Found this cacti off of one of the trails.

Clearing most of the cedars allowed the native grasses to come back, and what a come back!

Flowering Indiangrass. My favorite native grass. A prolific seed producer. 

Found this handsome high-eyelashed jumping spider (Phidippus mystaceus) on the picnic table. I think he enjoyed my company because he stayed for awhile.

This is a cardinal jumping spider (Phidippus cardinalis). Beautiful! I think he enjoyed being photographed.

Checkered gartersnake (Thamnophis marcianus). This one was on the same trail as the cardinal jumping spider. I hope the snake didn't find the spider.

                 Indiangrass with the rock wall in the background.