A Great Blue Heron poised on a fallen tree limb at Reelfoot Lake State Park.
“Poise: the ability to be ill at ease inconspicuously.” ~Earl Wilson
Great Blue Heron
nature
Dragonflies
Blue dasher (male)
Common (Eastern) Pondhawk
Eastern Amberwing
Double-ringed Pennant
Blue dasher (female)
Common Whitetail
Dragonflies spotted around the area of Reelfoot Lake, Lake County, Tennessee.
The dragon-fly is dancing,—
Is on the water glancing,
She flits about with nimble wing,
The flickering, fluttering, restless thing.
Besotted chafers all admire
Her light-blue, gauze-like, neat attire;
They laud her blue complexion,
And think her shape perfection…
~Heinrich Heine, “Die Libelle” (The Dragonfly)
Photobombed by a squirrel
Recently, while out for a walk, I spotted a rabbit sitting quietly in some grass. I was in the process of taking a few photos of the bunny, when a gray squirrel unexpectedly came bounding into view. I guess he was interested in having his picture taken too. 🙂
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” ~Marc Riboud
Swallowtail on a butterfly bush
“Discovering this idyllic place, we find ourselves filled with a yearning to linger here, where time stands still and beauty overwhelms.” ~Unknown
Head up!
“Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level.” ~Max L. Forman
Great Egret
“Calmness is the graceful form of confidence.” ~Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach
Red-Winged Blackbirds
A male and female Red-winged blackbird sitting in a marshy area near the Mississippi River.
The marsh, to him who enters it in a receptive mood, holds, besides mosquitoes and stagnation, melody, the mystery of unknown waters, and the sweetness of Nature undisturbed by man. ~ Charles William Beebe
Honey bee
“A work of arte; and yet no arte of man,
Can worke, this worke, these little creatures can”
~ Geffrey Whitney, 1586.
Clothed in white
White is not a mere absence of color; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black. God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white. ~G. K. Chesterton
Northern Flicker
I saw this stunning bird sitting in the yard using her curved bill to dig for insects in the ground. Though I was quite thrilled with my encounter, others didn’t share my enthusiasm. I was told that while beautiful, flickers can also be a nuisance — pecking holes and doing damage to both trees and houses.
“I am, as I am; whether hideous, or handsome, depends upon who is made the judge.” ~Herman Melville
walking on a country road 