Ruddy Darter

I'd already planned some time ago to join the nature society on their walk at the reserve the afternoon of my first of 6 days of holiday and so I did, even though my legs and feet had not yet fully recovered from yesterday's very long shift at work. Although I would have preferred to cycle because the journey time would only be half then, I took two buses to get there instead.

It was a very warm and sunny day but thankfully there was also a very welcome breeze and the sun frequently played hide and seek behind the clouds. Quite a large number of people had turned up for the walk but fortunately there were 4 guides instead of the normal 2 to choose from and follow and they would each be speaking about a different subject (plants, birds, insects, history). Another difference was that they were going to do their talks in the local Ghent dialect, which I don't speak myself but I've lived in the area long enough to understand it. I don't know if it was the language or the way the guide spoke about all the subjects at the various stops, but the walk was very enjoyable. My legs and feet were very glad when it eventually ended though.

I had a camera with me on the walk but it only came out of my bag 3 times to photograph some dragonflies. If I have identified it correctly from my insect book, the subject of my main entry is a male Ruddy Darter. The first extra is a shot of a male and female Ruddy Darter together. Unfortunately it was rather windy at that time and some grasses got in the way of getting a completely clear shot. The subject of my second extra is a caterpillar that I found on my balcony this morning. I have no idea what it will eventually turn into though.

I'd already planned to go on another walk tomorrow afternoon so I hope that my legs and feet will have recovered enough by then.

I have also backblipped yesterday's entry and hope you will have a look.