Insect identification is not my bag, but I think there’s a good chance that this pink cutie is Gyponana gladia. It has the right appearance, and I found it at the right time of year (September-November) and in the right kind of place (near hardwood forest). But, right or wrong, the scientific name is a mouthful, so let’s just call this bug a “pink leafhopper.”
I love bright fall colors–flaming yellows and rampant reds–but this subdued pink is lovely, too.
This newcomer to my yard looks much like a plant I spotted along the nature trail back in 2019. Bidens frondosa (devil’s beggar-ticks) seemed like a good guess at that particular plant’s identity, and it seems like an equally good guess for this one.
The year 2021 might not have been great for some things, but it has certainly been a good year for fungus. The kids and I went hiking a few weeks ago and there were mushrooms everywhere. Mushroom identification is another thing I have no expertise in, and there are quite a few more purple mushrooms than I would have thought, but my best guess is Cortinarius iodes.