Box Elder Bug

When I drove out to Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66) yesterday afternoon, I pulled off shortly before reaching Forgetmenot Pond in order to check for fungi beside the road. When I got back to my car and opened the door, I noticed this little Box Elder Bug (a first for me) on my car window. Unfortunately, it flew away just as I was going to take a macro shot : ). Even though I washed my car a week ago, I had had to scrape off a layer of ice the other morning, hence the filthy windows. Winter is on its way, though we are having temperatures around 25C or 26C right at the moment, which is wonderful!

By the way, this morning, I was on a bird walk but stopped to take a few photos of the bright red berries on a Thorny Buffaloberry shrub. Not content with a distant photo, I decided to get closer and in doing so, slipped on some very slippery fallen leaves. I was clutching my camera, I suspect, when I landed on my side. When I got up, I felt lucky to still be in one piece - and then I noticed the third finger on my right hand, bent and unable to be straightened. Well, I spent almost five hours at the Health Centre!!! I haven't broken my finger, but it looks like there could be a very fine fracture. The main thing, though, is that I completely ripped the tendon off the bone, which is why my finger was totally bent. Yuck! They X-rayed it and then they put a splint on it. If I bend the finger even slightly and for just a fraction of a second, it will rip the tendon off again while it's healing and I will have to start all over again. They expect it to take 6-8 weeks (most likely 8) IF I don't bend the finger when changing the splint. What a pain, especially as I knew I was going to HAVE to do things like see to my backyard, CLEAN the house, etc., etc., etc.. Long walks should be slowing down somewhat and everything (and I mean everything!) has been put off till now. Guess I won't be doing any of that stuff now. Driving is awkward, too, which is a nuisance. However, it could have been a leg or my back, so I'll count myself lucky! Not sure how well I'll do on my computer - using the mouse is quite painful, so I may have to slow down a little on Flickr.