Brick Pond

My youngest and I decided to “carpe the diem” and take a walk yesterday, even though it was late in the day and we didn’t have much time. We chose Brick Pond, a site nearby that usually promises some rewarding sights. The mud in the pond was at one time used to make bricks, and it even rebuilt the town after a devastating fire. But today it’s a nature preserve.

My daughter took the Panasonic Lumix, a point-and-shoot bridge camera; I took the Canon T6 which, after being sent out 3X for its sub-par autofocus, actually produced some fairly focused images. Here are a few of my favorites:

This dragonfly’s wings remind me of stained glass windows whose panes haven’t been stained yet. The wings would have been completely invisible to me without the telephoto lens to show me the details… except when the sun caught them:

This one was small. I’m guessing it belongs to the category of “skimmers.” But there were some large ones about as well. Maybe these big ones belong to the category of “darners”:

This giant indigo fly seems to think it’s camouflaged…

Another treat was this green heron:

It sat for quite awhile, observing us as we observed it. Usually they’re spookier than that. If I were in the habit of posting pics of my family, I’d love to share the one of my daughter photographing this bird with a gaggle of Canada geese just beyond her, all pointed in the same direction. It was quite the spectator sport.

There were some pretty flowers and berries too, and I was pleased that the camera could pick up on them.

I’m wondering if that last one is a “button bush.” A friend posted her button bush, absolutely alight with yellow swallowtails, on Facebook the other day. But the butterflies were elsewhere yesterday.

Here’s one from a walk earlier in the week, taken with the Panasonic:

We’re feeling pretty blessed to have such an abundance to enjoy during these warmer months, as well as two decent cameras to capture the memories.