Even when it rains...

It was a good weekend.  The forecast was for rain, but I don't let that stop me.  Yesterday, while it was raining, the sun came out.  For the second time in a month, I got to see one of these!  I never saw a full one before!

 And today, when it was time to come home, I glanced in an open field and saw these guys.

And these guys.

 

And when this guy saw my camera, he said "buh bye".

 

 Some guys just don't like to be photographed.

Snake in a Lake

There is a park in the area that I've never really explored.  Yesterday, with a friend, I did.  It was beautiful.  There were mushrooms growing out of trees....

 There was the occasional turtle, covered with tiny little green leaves.

 I saw a dragonfly or two..

 And then... all of the sudden... what is that in the distance?

 

It's slithering and moving fast!  And getting closer!

A SNAKE!!!

 But he was on a mission, and went on his merry way.  I was never scared for even an instant.  Honest!

Webs

Monday, I was fortunate enough to be in a beautiful park in Indiana. Pokagon State Park has always been known to me for it's beautiful Lake James in the Summer, it's toboggan run in the Winter, and camping probably year around.  But if you get off the beaten path, you will find some amazing nature.  One of these places was a swampy area with beautiful spider webs that hang from the trees so gracefully, especially early in the morning when the dew drops are still clinging to the webs.

Spiders can scare me if they get too close, but they sure can build a great house.

There were birds...

and wood ducks...

And through the misty air, I even spotted a few horses.

It was a very fun day.

Rainbow!

This morning when I woke up it was raining.  And that made me a little sad.  But then the sun came out.  However, it was still raining.  And, well, you know what that means!!

Birds

 There is a little island on our lake that houses many species of birds.  This past weekend, I got up at the crack of dawn, and decided to try and photograph a few.  I found this Black-crowned Night Heron. 

 He saw me.  Then he made his exit.

 He thought he could sneak around in this tree and I wouldn't see him.

 But I saw him alright.

And he sat there like a statue for the rest of the morning, waiting until night time when they start their day.

And then I saw this Eastern Kingbird.  He had a pretty voice.

But my favorite find of the day was the Green Heron.  I normally will hear them cackle from above, and finally found a few resting in the trees.  They are amazing to watch. 

 They can sit and look pretty.

 They can stretch their very long neck out to make them look like an entirely different bird.

 Or they can stretch their neck out just a little and pose for a portrait.

 They can dance.  (well, not really)

 The color of their feathers really brightens up once the sun hits them.

I want to be a bird when I grow up.

Raccoons

Yesterday was an exciting day in my back yard.  My dog managed to find two baby raccoons living in the bushes.  After cornering one of them, and scaring the poor thing half to death, I was able to call off the dog, grab my camera, and begin to make a couple of friends.

They were scared and very shy at first.

After a few minutes, they figured I wasn't going to hurt them, and they posed for me.

 

 But then the sun came out.  They looked at each other and decided to head for the woods.  It was their bed time.

Angry Bird

 

She is a beautiful Bird, the Great Blue Heron.

There is a park in town that is beautiful.  It has birds and ponds and flowers and ducks and waterfalls.  There is a Great Blue Heron that likes to sit by the waterfall and wait for dinner to swim by.  Yesterday, I tried to get a great picture of this guy and there was a fish jumping out of the water.  It was a very LARGE fish.  So large, in fact, that it looks fake in this picture.  But it's not fake.  I got this guy jumping out of the water.

 

 She can ruffle her feathers like the best of them.  And dive in for food.
But don't get in her space.  If you do, she gets ANGRY.

 

The Geese found this out the hard way.

Then, off she went.

Mamma duck and her little ones were minding their own business like a good duck family should.