Bright June

Huntley Meadows was absolutely gorgeous this afternoon -- temperatures in the low 80s, slightly overcast, the most incredible greenery I've ever seen there -- it's been a very wet summer, and the beavers have moved out of their lodge there for a new one up the river, so some of the dams are not being maintained and there's greenery growing where there once was deeper water -- there were hundreds of dragonflies in a wide variety of colors, butterflies, flowers and berries, box and snapping turtles, tree- and bullfrogs, snakes, egrets, herons, red-wing blackbirds, Canadian geese, hawks, a host of smaller birds I can't identify, a significant number of bugs and beetles, spiders, a praying mantis, mushrooms, a wide variety of trees...


A blue heron in the marsh.


A goose and an egret on the far side of the dam.


Pink trumpet flowers hiding hummingbirds, white Queen Anne's Lace, brown cattails and bright orange dodder (which looks like silly string but is unfortunately parasitic).


An egret about to land in shallow water.


A young snapping turtle...


..and a big box turtle in the sun.


A spider spinning between two stalks.


The air was filled with the sound of bullfrog singing.

Shall post the dragonfly pictures tomorrow as there are too many of them to spam one entry with. Hope everyone has had a lovely Saturday!