Friday, July 4, 2008

A walk in the woods

My husband and I released the opossum
that was in the trap this morning.
We went on an impromptu hike in the woods.


By a stream we saw Broad-winged Damsels.
These Ebony Jewelwings are beautiful.
The males are iridescent green and
as the light sifts they turn iridescent blue.

Absolutely stunning.
They fly like butterflies.
They are exquisite!



As we hiked I took pictures of butterflies and wildflowers.

The Banded Hairstreak is small, only an inch wing tip to wing tip.

I am smitten with the Broad-winged Damsels.
My book says there are 8 species in North America.
The Ebony Jewelwings are a large damselfly, 2 inches from head to tail.
The black satiny wings and the iridescent body make this damselfly unforgettable.
I want to go back and sit with the Jewelwings.
Perhaps I could invite a pair to come home to my backyard!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh you didn't get a pic of the opossum?

Merisi said...

Such beautiful creatures, and perfect pictures!

I always wish for a better zoom, when I encounter butterflies and the like. Getting too close, they tend to take off to quickly for me to capture them.
Happy Fourth of July!

Mel said...

You keep taking such beautiful pictures!
I so want to walk your paths!

Q said...

Dear Cathy,
I did take pictures of the opossume! He hissed at us when we released him! I laughed.
I post my pictures through the program Picassa. Blogger only lets me do four pics at a time! Thus I am very picky on what pics I pick!
The Ebony Jewlwings won out as they are so incredible and new to me. I am smitten!
Sherry

Q said...

Dear Merisi,
Thank you.
My zoom is huge,500x!
On this walk my husband and I both had cameras so we could go from
55x-500x with out changing lens. Sometimes you just have to point and shoot as the bugs can be fast.
I like to stand back a bit so as not to scare them.
Sherry

Q said...

Dear Mel,
Mother Nature keeps introducing me to amazing critters. These Damselflies are exquisite.
I am head over hells in love!
I have bought a new book on attracting Dragonflies to your backyard. I am looking forward to reading it. My bird and butterfly gardens will also include Dragonflies and Damselflies.
Always learning and dreaming,
Sherry