And Then I Smiled.....

     My husband and I made a quick trip home to Tennessee. We visited our family in Nashville and then went on to Sewanee where my comfort zone remains.  After completing a dental visit I raced to the house to ready my cameras and venture out to the lake behind our home. As I proceeded down the trail I saw my husband coming home from a five miles jog, after his early morning meeting. I told him that I was heading to see what was at the lake. He invited me to lunch with his friend, a past colleague, and I thought that I would join them since they weren't going until afternoon. This gave me some time to putter about. But once I got to the lake it was buzzing with raw beauty, the nature and experiences that were part of my life for twelve years and luckily still are! 
       I ventured all over the 15,000 acres that The University Of The South owns, while in Sewanee full-time over those twelve years. And once I took up the hobby of photography I seemed to never be without my camera. Today I was thrilled to have my cameras with me as I approached the first bridge crossing a small finger of the lake; I was engrossed and in awe over the multitude of dragonflies flitting about as they do this time of year. Finally.... I pulled away from the dragonflies and proceeded to the next bridge. When I started to check out what was stirring, a female hummingbird whizzed past my head and began to feed on the wild flowers,( Lobelia cardinalis) Cardinal Flower that had filled the spillway. Excited, I hurried around the edge of the bridge and down the embankment to get a closer look. I could not wait to get some photos! Several other species of dragonflies were hunting here and even challenging the hummingbirds to leave their territory. They would chase the hummingbirds off but after a short rest and perch on a nearby pine tree they would buzz back through for another sip of nectar!
     The butterflies and hummingbirds fed together on different sides of the plants and I was not able to get a clear photo.  Several times they appeared to be dancing in the air together and I would have loved to have gotten that on video! I had to bog down in the mud up to my ankles and hide in the reeds to get these photos because the growth was so high that I could not photograph above it.  I stood for probably an hour, hardly moving while the hummingbirds, dragonflies and butterflies went from plant to plant.
      I enjoyed my hike and my hour or more of stillness, getting sidetracked so long that I had to pass on my lunch invitation. A few folks strolled pass the bridge, two boys that never noticed me, as they looked for a good fishing spot, a women that simply smiled, an older gentleman asked, “What are you photographing?", as he clutched his binoculars and I whispered, “hummingbirds...nature”!  And then I smiled.

These two contortionist are attempting to mate right?

Excuse me....coming through...(fly by peeping Tom)

Dragonfly...blue dasher I think.

Female hummingbird feeding on Cardinal Flower.

 

 

 

She spotted me and it took her several minutes to return.  I believe there were two hummingbirds feeding in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

River Running, Nature And Birdwatching

 

Today the New River seemed to have a bit more "nature excitement" on it than in the last few river runs that we have made. Early on in our rafting I spotted a Red-breasted Merganser and two young ones. I was intrigued to grab a few pictures though it was difficult while moving even in the calmer section of our rafting trip.   And also the female, "momma bird" was a bit anxious with my need to get a closer look and photos.  She moved about changing directions as though she wish that I would go away but the young ones seem oblivious to my approach!  I do not believe that I have seen the Red-breasted Merganser before. It was interesting to note the wild eyed expression and crazy Mohawk appearance of the top feathers on the female adults head. She looked like a high strung, nervous and confused momma as I approached closer but calmly. It may have simply been her "natural look". I tried to be courteous in my curiosity and tried not to move too quickly in order to keep her from too much more stress or panic. We also spotted a Blue Heron that we have seen on a few river trips and a multitude of dragonflies and damselflies. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors and on the river.

Red-breasted Merganser female

I'm pretty sure that she was thinking, why are you following us and what are you looking at.

Cruising down the river.

 

One of the young Red-breasted Merganser with it's head submerged while the other one cruises on down the river

 

Female Red-breasted Merganser keeping an eye on me.

 

One of the young Red-breasted Merganser with it's head submerged while the other one just popped up from it's under water view. 



Blue Heron

 

Blue Heron



Pipevine (Battus philenor) swallowtail along the river bank.

 

The Thurmond, WV bridge.

The New River above Thurmond, West Virginia
 



As we pulled out of Thurmond, West Virginia along the railroad track we ran down to a creek bed and snapped a few shots of this waterfall.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia!

I was eager to hit the trails after a long day of driving to West Virginia. It was not such a difficult drive, it is always just so hard for me to leave family, friends, the forest, lakes and streams of our home in Sewanee and turn it over to the house sitter. This time the animals came along so I have no worries about leaving them. And I have my trail buddy, Miss Carly, in tow. And of course I was heading to be with my husband! It's nice to be torn between wonderful places!
Our outdoor adventures began a bit later than I had hoped, due to a rainy morning. But I have my new water shoes for the muddy spots and the skies had begun to clear off nicely, so we ventured out. My excitement immediately exploded with wildflower sightings and then a plethora of black and yellow swallowtail butterflies appeared in an area covered in one of my father’s favorite wild flowers, Milkweed ( Silkweed - Asclepias syriaca) and Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum). Both Milkweed and Joe-Pye weed are tall growing, with a cluster of mauve pink blossoms and they are rugged perennials that the butterflies seem to savor. Like most woodland plants, these wildflowers prefers moist soil to dry and today they were nicely moist at their roots as I stood in the mush to take photos. And I loved every minute of it! Another interesting find for me was a very medium size blossom in soft pink to almost fuchsia. I investigated the plant and noticed fruit growing on it! I was so excited and amazed to see wild raspberries! I am an avid blackberry and dew berry picker but I have never come across wild raspberries. At least that is what I believe these are! I took a chance with what I know about berries and tasted one of these on my second outing for the day. With only a slight bit of trepidation I picked one for a taste. I gently put it to my lip squeezed it a bit then went in for a tiny taste. It was somewhat sweet but still fairly sour. I did a bit of research when I got back to the computer and I believe they were wild raspberries. I haven’t died yet from a poison berry! But I have spent a lifetime in the woods and outdoors. I would never suggest to someone who is not aware of vegetation or berry types to ever try a berry in the wild. And never try berries that the birds don’t eat. That is a sure sign that the berries are not edible! As I always try to do we squeezed in two one hour (or longer) hikes today! The evening was sunny and cooler. I was amazed as the evening went on that our temperature in Beckley dropped considerably. By dinner time it was 66 and on its way down to a possible 55! Wow! I had to pinch myself! Is it summer in West Virginia?

 

Pipevine Swallowtail

Three Pipevine Swallowtails!



 

 

 

 

I believe that these are wild raspberries blossoms!

http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Rubus%20odoratus

 

Wild Raspberries?