Out on a walk

What is this? We don't have anything like this in our yard.

I have been away from my own little yard for a while. I have been staying at a special place, a restored old time village and farm. The people who settled here found lots of rocks in their fields and in the creeks that ran past them. They used the rocks to make long stone fences. As I walked along this fence little creatures jumped and flew in front of me. They made a rustling noise as they flew short distances and hid in the grasses.
I watched one carefully find a niche in the stone fence. It backed in and held very still. Now it wasn't afraid of me because the rock protected it.

I was able to get very close to it and admire the stripes and patterns on its legs and body.

This is a Grasshopper.

Its great long hindlegs are folded up. It can jump long distances with those legs - and it can fly as well with the wings that are folded along its back. But the thing I like best about Grasshopper is that it can sing with its legs. All around me I heard the music that grasshoppers and crickets make in the Fall out in the country where long grass grows.