Daggerwing Nature Reserve: July 2014

Do you ever get those days where you feel like you have to get out?  I do, and this past weekend I did.  I think that the weather has forgotten that this is South Florida and summer. The rainy weather is driving me nuts.  After 4 days of rain I just want to get out and go for a walk.  I did not want to drive to far because the weather was not promising, but I figured if I go local, I can get in and out before the rain starts up again.  So I grabbed my camera and my rain cover for the camera and I left the house for an hour. 

Daggerwing Nature Reserve is close enough.  It is not a reserve to go to expecting to see nesting birds or gators or otto's or anything else like that.  I like to go there and focus on plants and insects predominantly. My first trip to Daggerwing Nature Reserve can be found here. I have also taken my reverse lens fitting there and taken macro photos of anything that caught my attention. For the link to the macro page you can click here. 

When I go to Daggerwing Nature Reserve I am not expecting to see much bird life.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this female Cardinal fluttering about with her mate.  

As I mentioned we have had rain.  So raindrops for a short while became my focus of attention.  If I could just get one that I was happy with I would move on. 

The Blue Jay is one of my favorite birds.  At home, it will sneak in and steal the squirrels peanuts.  They Blue Jay typically feeds on nuts, seeds and soft fruit.

Tiny cones, fruit pods and the new life of a plant always appeal to me from a creative point of view.

Dragonflies are always a favorite.  I love how these little critters are put together. They have the most amazing faces, they are so colorful, and their wings are so fragile.  They never stop moving and it is hard to pin them down to get their photograph.  Just when you get the right focus they decide to move off again.  

One of the coolest things I found was this mummified dragonfly.  Cool for me, and probably the spider that got it, not so cool for the dragonfly.  

I had completed my loop and was heading back to the car when I came across the following flowers and spent some time attempting to capture a bee stealing pollen from the plant.  I have to say here that I keep a healthy distance from bees.  I have been stung once to often.  So I was pretty grateful for my 200mm lens.  

Last but not least I was able to catch the Giant Swallowtail butterfly doing the same thing as the bees.  

One of my favorite things to do these days is get out and walk.  To enjoy what nature has to offer us.  To take pleasure in the beauty that is around us and to allow it to still my thoughts and give peace to my soul.  

      "I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery -                                 air, mountains, trees, people.                           I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy'".

~ Sylivia Plath,  The Bell Jar

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