Tuesday, May 22, 2007

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.
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.
web
What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
Sir Walter Scott
(See. You CAN get a good education in Indiana.)
mating flies
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:
egg shell red shouldered hawk
I've decided to think that this eggshell is just the remains of a healthy, hatched baby RS.
basking TV
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?
field sparrow
Oh, yeah.
In the words of Winona Ryder in "Heathers",
"Lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up."
field sparrow eating a bug
AND I got a picture of one eating a little green bug!
You have to look close.
Maybe this was my favorite moment...
Male yellow-breasted chat
A very bold, friendly yellow-breasted chat.
I was hearing lots of calls that I thought were cardinals, crows, frogs...
But it was him!


Wait. Maybe this was my favorite moment:
This is for Julie, and also for Nina.
I did a turtle rescue in the park:
Male box turtle
If turtles hold beauty contests, I think box turtles would win.
The markings on their backs reminds me of bear claws.
red eye
This is one sexy turtle. A male, out looking for love, in all the wrong places (like the road).
Thank you
"Thank you, ma'am."

No, this was my favorite moment:
really small inchworm
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:
maybe a spicebush swallowtail
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!

Okay, really, this was my bestest moment...
Baby. Wood. Ducks.
Let me say it again.
Baby. Wood. Ducks.
Baby wood ducks and momma
I need a minute.

Finally, the cherry on the sundae:
A really big snapping turtle

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

9 comments:

LauraHinNJ said...

You do have the best outings, Susan!

I'm jealouys of the Chat - they're hard to see here - mostly in South Jersey - and always hidden away in the middle of a tangle of brush. Love the yellow on their chest!

entoto said...

Holy Moly! Garden of Eden, dear. What a day. I thought I had a good one with an 1 1/2 hour massage. You may have beat me!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

OK, I'm green with envy here.
Field sparrow- never seen one
yellow-breasted chat- never seen one
box turtle- nein
itty-bitty inchworm- never
butterfly with gravel on it's tongue- nope
baby wood ducks- nyet

Your day was too much fun.

thanks for the TV fix!! :)

Unknown said...

Uh. WOW!

You win the prize, for sure, girl.

Mary said...

This is probably the best outing I've read about! You had it ALL! Are you down from that cloud yet?

All of your photos are so darn good...

I'll admit it - I'm terribly jealous :o)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful day you had! WOW look at the number of insects, birds, turtles, ect.. that you were able to find!! I love your two video's and more so the chat! How lucky you were in seeing the bird since this is one which is rarely seen in our area! BRAVO!

Jayne said...

What a day!!!! Awww... BABY Wood Ducks. What joy and rapture you caught Susan!

NatureWoman said...

Wow Susan what a great day!! Everything, especially the baby ducks, I mean, who doesn't just *love* baby ducks!!!

nina at Nature Remains. said...

I haven't seen one turtle crossing this year! Maybe that's a good thing. (I'd rather see no turtles, than see turtles that didn't make it)