Someone slap me.

If I had had a better day at East Fork Lake, I would be slumped over in my chair with a silly grin on my face, and possibly some drool pooling on the keyboard.
It was paradise.

Along the prairie trail, there is a loop that takes you into cool, green trees.
The air smelled so good...sweet, soft and a little spicy.

What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
Sir Walter Scott
(See. You CAN get a good education in Indiana.)

I have officially raised the bar on porn here in BlogWorld.
BUG Porn!
Anyone know what these horny flies are?
They were solid black except for a bright yellow spot on their backs.
I don't know which moment today was my favorite...
As I stepped into the woods, I heard a ruckus like two cats fighting up in the trees. I saw what I thought was a red-shouldered hawk chasing out a crow.
A few feet further, eggshells:

I've decided to think that this eggshell is just the remains of a healthy, hatched baby RS.

This is for Lynne, the world's only vulture-phile.
There should be a TV show (get it?) called "Meet the Stinky's".
I have seen field sparrows before, on my first guided bird walk, but only at a distance, and then they were little brown blurs.
But how's this for luck?

Oh, yeah.
In the words of Winona Ryder in "Heathers",
"Lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up."

AND I got a picture of one eating a little green bug!
You have to look close.
Maybe this was my favorite moment...

A very bold, friendly yellow-breasted chat.
I was hearing lots of calls that I thought were cardinals, crows, frogs...
But it was him!

Click To Play

Wait. Maybe this was my favorite moment:

This is for Julie, and also for Nina.
I did a turtle rescue in the park:

If turtles hold beauty contests, I think box turtles would win.
The markings on their backs reminds me of bear claws.

This is one sexy turtle. A male, out looking for love, in all the wrong places (like the road).

"Thank you, ma'am."

No, this was my favorite moment:

I was sitting in some cool, shady moss when I felt something on my arm. I could hardly see it, but when it moved, I realized it was the itty-bittiest inch worm I have ever seen.
The creases in my skin must have looked like canyons.
Click on the picture to see him. He is so cute.

Another moment high on the list:

As far as I can tell, this is a spicebush swallowtail.
And I had to get video of this...
It was probing with its probiscus, and I noticed that it had some gravel dust stuck to it!

Click To Play

Okay, really, this was my bestest moment...
Baby. Wood. Ducks.
Let me say it again.
Baby. Wood. Ducks.

I need a minute.

Finally, the cherry on the sundae:

A mammoth snapping turtle, covered in duck weed and muck, heaving itself out of the water and onto a log.
Oh, my, goodness.