A true grasshopper

We're getting to a time of year that I really love in the garden: late summer. There are many things to like about the garden at this time, but what I like most is the ambiance, and that is mainly due to one garden resident: the grasshopper.

I suppose I should say grasshoppers, katydids, and possibly crickets, because they all add their calls to the layer of sound that blankets my yard at this time of year. I'll probably take a more in-depth look at grasshoppers in another post, but today I just want to show you a real grasshopper.

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You see, I think that grasshoppers -- like many things -- have a misleading or inaccurate name. They don't really hop, do they? Doesn't hopping require a repetitive motion -- like a bunny, or kangaroo? Grasshoppers will jump once or twice, but that's usually it. Not repetitive.

Doesn't hopping also require the use of one leg only, or is that a special case? (Think of childhood activities, like hopscotch.)

They should have been called grassjumpers.

Except for this guy. He's a true hopper. How do I know?

He has only one jumping leg. No choice but to hop, right?

He doesn't look amused.

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