A small nest uncovered when the leaves fell off the beech (that I originally thought was a birch, but I see it’s starting to develop some distinct eyes on the trunk.)  The nest is probably a song sparrow’s.

One bright blue-purple veronica bloom. A few things will pop a random flower in the late fall.

Catmint, having a fresh spate of leaf growth, in the cooler weather. 

An iris, that may slip this one past the deer. All my bearded iris are rebloomers, but last summer they didn’t bloom at all.

A foxglove, with a warped little flower, and others it’s trying to open before it freezes.

One last poblano pepper. There are three ways to preserve a pepper, one of the few vegetables that may survive wintering over in a pot. You can start one from a stem cutting, pot the roots after trimming back the topgrowth, or save seeds from one of the fruits and start them in the late winter, or early spring, depending on your zone.

Closeup of a ruffled lichen, growing off a twig that fell out of a tree.