Dragonfly finds a fine resting place on a hot summer afternoon.
I’m trying out a new theme here at WordPress. I’ve long felt my photos were too small on the page so I’m employing (at this point, anyway) a theme that allows for “flexible” sizing including full-size display of images. Don’t know if I’ll stay with this but, since my blog has evolved into largely a photo-blog, it’s perhaps more appropriate.
The river looked like wavy glass and fat raindrops like bullets hitting it.
Layers of cumulus clouds billowed over the region this Sunday.
We had a late breakfast, did a quick shop at Target, watched a little TV, and tried to figure out what to do. It was a muggy day, dawning overcast with a high chance of rain. We didn’t want to be too exposed to the weather but really didn’t want to spend the day indoors, either. Saving us from a boring, “wasted” day, She Who Must Be Obeyed came up with the brilliant idea — visit the Lorain Metro Parks’ Columbia Reservation. I had been there by myself a couple of times recently but She had not. It was a splendid idea.
Damselfly male Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) had better watch himself, there’s a fish perhaps watching him!
We took the same hiking trails I had taken late in June. I could serve as a sort of guide but also see what changes have ensued since my last visit in this, so far drought-plagued summer. Some of the flowering plants have been spent, fulfilling their reproductive mission. The water levels in seasonal wet areas have dropped dramatically, some of them scarily! But some other things showed little change. We both took plenty of photographs this afternoon and, while I shot a variety of subjects, I found myself drawn back to one of my favorites… dragonflies! In one pond I spotted not a dragonfly but a pretty little damselfly posing on a bent stick protruding from the still water. Shooting several frames to try and get focus and lighting right, it wasn’t until I reviewed the images later that I discovered a sunfish lurking beneath the surface. I don’t know if the fish was watching the insect or me; in this little pond, the sunfish follow people as they walk back and forth on a small platform over the water!
Finally got a nice shot of a Twelve-spotted Skimmer (male) dragonfly.
In the final portion of our nature walk I was finally able to fulfill my goal of photographing a beautiful dragonfly I’d spotted there back in June. My first time there, I’d spotted the dragon but didn’t have the focal length to capture its image. I returned another time equipped with the right optics but saw none of its kind! Today was perfect: I had the optics, the dragonfly was cooperative, and the lighting and scene were nearly ideal. And my portrait of a male Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) was my pic of the day! Third time’s the charm!
True recycling here.
Visiting the Hubbard Valley Park of the Medina County (Ohio) Park System today, we walked the woodland trail. The woods were lovely, dark, and deep, as has been restated by many. Among the beautiful sights was a rotting log hosting sun-spotlighted fungi. Philosophers, have at!
One of many lightning bolts in a dry thunderstorm the night of July 4, 2012.
“Oh no,” I said, “here comes another storm!” It showed up as “small” on radar and I didn’t think much of it. What arrived, however, was one of nature’s natural fireworks shows, and in time to close out the July 4th holiday; the small thunderstorm came through dry and full of lightning. Most of the lightning was cloud-to-cloud and there were plenty of what I call “crawlers” — discharges that appear to move in branches across the bottoms of the clouds. I was caught by surprise! I love shooting photos of lightning, or, at the very least, trying to capture those images. This was the perfect opportunity — no rain to get in the way or ruin my lenses — but all my gear was stowed! I quickly gathered camera and tripod and headed to my sheltered observing post. It was a great show though, with a storm this active, I didn’t know where to aim for the best shots. Out of maybe 150 exposures, I got a good number with at least some streaks of lightning; out of those, I’d managed to get a couple of good images. Displayed here is the best of tonight’s bunch.
I see you! A damselfly clings to the side of a reed away from the photographer.
Thinking to avoid the hot sun of midday but wanting to get out, we decided to take a nice, leisurely walk in shady woods somewhere. We paid a visit to the Carlisle Reservation of the Lorain County Metro Parks. The woodland trail turned out to be a good choice for avoiding excessive sun in the 90-degree heat and moderate humidity but woods are very good at blocking breezes; we wound up pretty sweaty by the end of our little hike. Of course I carried a camera –in this case my trusty old Canon Digital Rebel XT– always on the lookout for picture possibilities. I checked each of the several ponds we encountered for the usual subjects: birds, snakes, frogs, and dragonflies: No (wading) birds at all! No snakes seen. Lots of quick little frogs. And a nice selection of dragonflies! I’d decided to carry a “walking-around” zoom lens with modest telephoto abilities and it was both fun and frustrating to use that lens’s limits and capabilities to best effect. My favorite results are shown here. We left Carlisle ready for cool beverages but happy for the quiet walk.
Sometimes keeping your distance makes for a better view!
A mess of fire escape iron on the side of a building in downtown Wooster, Ohio.
With summer weather already settling in on us, we did our errands this Saturday morning and then slowed down with a relaxing visit to Wooster, Ohio. The city’s downtown area features a number of interesting shops, restaurants and cafes. Downtown Wooster is also home to a number of business start-ups and a major rehab/development project — I see in that, and in other places I have visited recently, a sense of optimism and indications of a real upturn in the regional economy.
Detail of Wayne County Courthouse, Wooster, Ohio.
The Wayne County Courthouse dominates the downtown area and is surrounded by wonderful old brick retail merchant structures dating, it appears, from the mid-1800s. We enjoyed visiting the shops and snapping photographs of the buildings.
Carved sandstone decoration on Wayne County Courthouse, Wooster, Ohio.
Among our favorite visits this day were RoomScapes (where we found wonderful, expensive, “Stressless” reclining chairs by Ekornes we may buy), SoMar Wine Cellars (we bought some good wine there), and Today’s Kitchen Store (a return visit to purchase another excellent pan). The merchants were all friendly, helpful, and conversations with them casual and enjoyable. So’s we would not “cook” our wine purchases in the car (sunny and ~87 F), we made our stop at SoMar the last of our visit and headed home.
Female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) with captured dragonflies.
Birds gotta eat, I know. Still, it seemed unfair. A female Red-winged Blackbird had captured a meal. I photographed her perched on a swaying tree branch at the Columbia Reservation of Lorain County Metroparks. I could see, clutched in her beak, the shining gossamer wings of a dragonfly. I’m a fan of dragonflies and of Red-winged Blackbirds too, for that matter, so had a little remorse over the fate of the dragon. Birds gotta eat, I know. Preparing this photograph for posting today, however, brought out unexpected details in the picture. The tangle of dragonfly in the bird’s beak contained two dragonfly abdomens and, yes, two heads, and too many wings — the blackbird had captured two dragonflies. How could that happen? I can only think of one way. The insects were mating in flight, as they do, when caught. It seemed somehow unfair that they should die in that last embrace.
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) running across a tree branch arch.
I decided to take some time to see if I could capture a better portrait of the skittish Green Heron I watched the other day. So I revisited Medina County’s Alderfer-Oenslager Wildlife Sanctuary. Today I arrived armed with my wonderful 400mm telephoto lens and began stalking heron. I looked along the boardwalk, no heron. I checked the banks of the wetland and in the trees… nope. Red-winged Blackbirds aplenty but no heron. I looked around the smaller pond above the wetlands and still found no little heron. Oddly, this day very few dragonflies were visible either. Disappointed and about to give up hope, I spotted “Little Green” on the banks of a very small and shallow pool near the large wetlands. The heron was scuttling along the edge of the water, apparently looking for prey from upon the muddy banks. He hiked up and across a fallen tree branch that formed an arch, then back to the mud. I managed to squeeze off a few shots but then my quarry took off. No, I hadn’t spooked it… another Green Heron was flying over and mine gave chase. I stuck around for quite a while after that but the birds did not return. So I took off, myself.
Bullfrog: “Perhaps if I hold very, very still… breeep!”
Though obvious in these pictures, quite a few animals can become invisible by matching their environment to their color. A bullfrog, waiting for prey to come a bit too close or for his own protection against predators, may sit quietly in duckweed. If the frog holds still enough, perhaps he will be overlooked and gain a meal or avoid becoming one. The green dragonfly, also a predator, has the same advantages if it alights among green plant leaves. The dragonfly, by the way, was much harder to spot than the frog! These animals were spotted at the Columbia Reservation of the Lorain County Metroparks hiding in plain sight.
Dragonfly: “Perhaps if I hold very, very still…. buzzzzzip!”
American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) — Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) female.
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