THIS SIDE IS BETTER!!...

This interesting little guy just seemed as if he wanted me to take his photo, he wouldn't leave me alone...so, finally he perched himself on the cattails(which are about 6 feet tall now) and looked straight at me. I took his picture, and then he flew down a tad and turned to the side...can you just imagine him saying... Oh, I look sooo much thinner from my side profile!! He sure is comical looking!!

A FEW MOMENTS OF TRUST...

On this early morning as I took my walk, I came upon a dragonfly, or was it the other way around?...we bonded for several minutes...we both moved our heads side to side..almost mimicking one another ...we were within one foot of each other...I finally reached out and pet his wings, ever so softly, quite a few times. It was amazing...as this was happening...I wondered if this other being was thinking as I was...two different species in complete trust. His wings were delicate...but yet truly strong to be able to go about his life. Ralph came out of the cabin and witnessed this. After our walk...we went into the cabin and Ralph answered a call...his friend and co-worker from work had just died this morning...I never met Jerry..but Ralph always spoke so highly of him...so I know he was a good man. After the call, I thought about the dragonfly and I thought about Jerry...both delicate...yet so strong to go about their daily life.

RAINBOW OF COLORS...

Just breathtaking!!!...I love walking around and seeing what's new in the gardens..my idea of relaxing!!

ALONG MY WALK ...

This is one of my very favorite daylillies in my collection, wish I knew the name of it..beautiful, aren't they?? This dragonfly is unique to my other dragonflies, it was quite large and is all black, with a satin gold stripe down its' entire length (if you click on picture to enlarge - might see it better). I hope to see more of this type dragonfly....I also saw an all blue body with shimmery gold wings...of course, didn't have the camera at that instance. Wish I could capture a really good photo of my hummingbirds. I guess these photos I've been posting are my "take time to stop and smell the roses" photos... just some of the things I experience in my own little paradise here.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY...

No Clint Eastwood...the good..butterfly....the bad..those pesky Japanese Beetles(that I catch and feed to the fish) and the ugly..the large mouth bass..Billy Bob...no comments on what category I fall under!!! I probably catch at least 100 beetles a day..they eat my weeping cherry tree, the endless hydrangeas, the japanese willows, the coneflowers, the weiglas, daylillies, etc. I guess I'm not a very good Mother Nature by feeding those beetles to the fish!!!

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE ORB...

Going back to my first post...this is a close up of the "fairy orb"...still can't see it as good as on my screen when I zoom in the original...my son Brad was out over the weekend and did some cropping to get this close-up..it most likely is a dragonfly or some other flying insect caught in the rain..but it's vertically positioned..mmm??...just fun to think what it could be.

CALMING...

What is it about water that is so soothing to most people? This is the start of our new waterfall across the pond, beginning in the woods. There are a series of 13 smaller falls, within a "creek" down to the pond. We originally had a waterfall right next to the dock, beautiful as it was, you had to be right on the dock to see it, and it was a little loud if you were talking. So, this is what Ralph has been working on for about 2 months. I put a little hidden seating area in the woods near it. Now we can see the falls from the cabin and most anywhere. I gathered up some ferns and other plants from the woods to plant behind the falls, so when everything grows in it should look very lush. I'd say my husband did an excellent job!!