Aye Aye, Admiral!

Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Feeling much better today and headed out to the Paulinskill trail for a nice, long hike - just me, the D600, Big Daddy and nature. On the way out, I saw several warblers (still waiting for an ID on one) and quite a few blackbirds and sparrows. By the time I turned around to head back, the sun was warming everything up and all the late season dragons and butterflies came out to play - what fun!

I saw five species of butterflies (red admiral, sulphur, white, blue, and crescent) and four dragons (common whitetail, autumn meadowhawk, pondhawk and darner). A veritable bonanza! I was tempted to give you a darner eating a spider, but I decided to spare those of you who might be a bit squeamish about such things. Besides, I wasn't entirely sure which darner it was as we have several who fly in the fall here and all are large.

Today was also a day for me to commune with Big Daddy...who is now on his way to Tamron's service center for some much needed attention. He's had a wobble for awhile (I know, who doesn't have a wobble?) and a disturbing grinding when I extend the lens. Anyway, it was way overdue to send him in. I paid extra for priority shipping, so he should arrive at Tamron's NY service center Monday. If the website can be believed, repairs will be complete within 3 working days. All of which means that I am going to be a one-lens gal for the next week or so... sigh.

However, that may be a good thing as I think I sometimes rely too much on the 500 mm zoom. The next few weeks will be a good chance for me to get better acquainted with the Nikon 28-300 lens that I bought earlier this year. I hope...

Hubs and I are going out to dinner (Thai) tonight with some friends, and then to a comedy show - a real date! Then, tomorow, we are headed into NYC for the day/night. Weather is supposed to be glorious tomorrow, so it should be a good day for wandering the City.

My six favorite pics from today are posted on Flickr, starting here with a toxic caterpillar