Trying to Improve on Nature?

Today's photo experience on the way home from work provided food for thought. I set out to photograph the first sign of fall colors which I thought would be represented by Poison Oak. I stopped at my "milkweed spot" where I thought I'd find poison Oak as well as a wild cherry tree I follow year-round. No Poison Oak, but the cherry tree was doing fine. Someone thought a slight improvement was in order and mounted a CD on one of the top branches. Interesting photo subject, perhaps, but definitely not an improvement. Following the pic of the CD are photos of a brightly-colored leaf and a bunch of cherries off the same tree. Not sure if it is Bitter Cherry or Choke Cherry, although I think it's the latter. The Showy Milkweed in the vicinity are starting to brown and the seed pods are ready to burst. Unexpected was a caterpillar of the Monarch Butterfly. Rather late in the season. It was crawling along the stem near a seed pod in a not-so-photogenic spot. I zoomed in a little closer for a better shot. Then, succumbing to my own urge to improve on nature, I relocated the caterpillar to a nearby leaf. It immediately curled up and rolled off. I replaced it two or three times and only got it to stay by holding the leaf in a horizontal position while I took the shot. Then, when I let go, it fell again. I felt bad about disturbing its plans, but did the best I could by placing it next to the base of the stem, hoping it would recognize the plant and climb back to its preferred spot. It probably won't make it through the winter, but a few billion others will.
The intervening shot of a lone rose hip brought another subject to mind, the disappearance of the vibrant colors of spring and summer. Having got addicted to shooting wildflowers and brightly colored bugs, now I have to search harder for color - like the lone rose hip - or seriously change my photographic goals as winter approaches. What crossed my mind was a title for a new post: "Celebrating Brown." I reveal it here as a way of forcing myself to follow through, maybe in the next day or two. While nearly everything but the leaves/needles of evergreens has turned brown, I'd better start looking more closely and at different angles at all these brown things. Aha, the cat-o-nine-tails are a worthy subject. And the seeds and seed pods of many of these plants are quite beautiful. And the pine and fir cones. There's plenty to see, even before the fall colors intensify. I just have to make a seasonal adjustment to the way I look.