Oh, Odes!

Today was the weekly walk with the naturalist group - and, as always, there was much to see.  Although we heard lots of birds singing, most of them were well hidden by the trees, which are fully leafed out now.  However, the insect world made up for the lack of bird sightings ... at least for me!

I am waiting for a firm ID on this splendid dragon.  I know it is in the Darner family and believe  Happy to report that is IS a Spatterdock Darner (Rhionaeschna mutata).  It isn't a common dragon in this area, so a pretty exciting find .  Itwas very willing to pose for two of us who were snapping away.  I was actually able to get within about 4 feet, and took this with my Nikkor 28-300 lens.  Darners are among the largest of the dragons that we see in N. America, reaching in excess of 3 inches in some cases.  This one was notable for his vibrant blue colors and rich pattern.  

Other notables were a curmudgeonly bullfrog, a little skipper butterfly, a very cool fly and a tiny hitchhiking jumping spider.  Then, when I got home, I saw a blatant case of bug porn happening right on my back porch!  You know I had to photograph it, of course.  Five pics starting HERE on Flickr - first one is x-rated!

In the backyard... the wren still hasn't found a new mate, there have been no current Bruinhilda sightings, the clematis is about to bloom, and the milkweed is about ready to transplant.  Oh, and I found several patches of beautiful wild geraniums growing at the edge of the woods!  I've cleared out the crappy invasives nearby so that they'll have plenty of room to grow and spread.  And hopefully I can transplant some to the native garden in the fall.  

Happy hump day, people...