Pictures from the Reservoir...Again

Last Wednesday, my friend, Pat, joined me for a walk at the reservoir. I've shown you several pictures from the reservoir, but not many of the reservoir. So I'm including a picture of Pat on the path to give you just a glimpse of what our walking path looks like.

Pat at the Reservoir

In recent years, the reservoir has become a sanctuary for several Canada geese that have been injured and can no longer fly. Somehow, they find their way into the relative security of this place. I say "relative security" because there are predators, such as coyotes, who frequent the place. But, overall, the wounded geese enjoy a comfortable existence. The reservoir is closed to the public during the winter, but employees bring grain to help sustain the geese during the cold months.

Occasionally, a flock of healthy geese come to the reservoir for a time, and the injured geese usually seem to enjoy the company.

Several geese were on hand on the day of our walk.

Most of the milkweed flowers have begun to dry up by now, but we found one full of buds that had not yet opened, except for one tiny flower.

Milkweed flower buds

The last time I had walked at the reservoir, I had seen a pair of Northern Mockingbirds flitting in and out of the trees. I hadn't been able to get a decent shot of them that day, but I was watching for them on this walk, hoping for a better opportunity.

Seeing a flash of white landing in a tree near where I had seen the mockingbirds, I took a chance that it was one of the birds I was watching for and snapped a photo. When I looked at it later, though, it appeared to be a juvenile; and I couldn't be sure it was a Northern Mockingbird. I include the picture here, though, because I liked it.



Possibly a Northern Mockingbird juvenile.

This next picture was taken this past Saturday, as Doug and I were driving by the reservoir at sunset. We stopped so I could get a quick sunset photo.

Sunset at the reservoir.

A Few More from the Reservoir

This set of photos is still from my walk at the reservoir on July 12.

This isn't a great shot of a Killdeer, but they're so fleet of foot and flight that I was pleased to get it.

A female Red-winged Blackbird

The same female Red-winged Blackbird

I don't know what it is, but isn't it pretty?

A Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

This close-up shows that he was apparently dining on a smaller insect with transparent wings.

A group of horses was being driven back to the barn on an Amish farm.

A milkweed flower in the morning sunlight.

This wraps up the photos from my walk of the 12th. Guess I'd better get out there again. But next time, I'll use some insect repellent.

More Photos from the Reservoir

Sharing some more photos from my walk at the reservoir on Friday, July 12:

Milkweed Flower (I like the way the leaves make it look like a bouquet.)

Trumpet Vine Flower

Queen Anne's Lace with Red Center Flower

Pale Green Butterfly

Pale Brown Butterfly or Moth

White Cabbage Butterfly

Bumblebee on Chicory Flower

Bee on St. John's Wart

I'll have more photos from that walk coming up soon. It was a profitable day, from a photographic standpoint, in spite of the insect bites that are still itching.

Even Thistles Can Be Pretty

I walked at the reservoir last Friday, and it took me an hour and 40 minutes to complete the walk, almost double my usual time, because I stopped so often to take photographs. I probably can't count that walk as exercise.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos because the price I paid for them was insect bites all over my body, especially on my legs. Apparently, stopping frequently and stepping into the grass next to the trail was taken as a dinner invitation by many of the resident bugs.

Today's post is devoted to thistles...not exactly a favorite weed, but one with it's own beauty nonetheless.

As you may have anticipated, there will be more posts from that walk. Hopefully, by the time I've finished posting the pictures from that day, the itching will have stopped.

Some Amish Farm Scenes

One of the things I enjoy about walking at the reservoir is that the path, on top of the high bank surrounding the water, allows good views of the Amish farms that surround the reservoir. Following are several photos  taken at the reservoir on June 19th.

Amish woman cutting hay

An open gate between pastures

An Amish barn

A panorama view showing two houses and the same barn from the prior photo

Solar Panels

This is the farm where the construction was going on in a previous post.

Many of the Amish have built separate buildings on their property, where they can host the church meetings when their turn comes up in the rotation. Church meetings used to always be in the homes of the various families in the district, but more and more of these separate buildings are appearing on Amish farms.

And here is one last picture of an Amish farm.:

  

This one is not near the reservoir but can be seen from a highway that we frequently travel. It was a late-afternoon drive-by shot.

Birds and Wildflowers at the Reservoir

These photos were captured during my walks last week at the reservoir.

Red-Winged Blackbird


Meadowlark  

Yellow Wildflowers

Another Yellow Wildflower

Chicory

Chicory


Milkweed Flower


Insect on Milkweed Flower

I wasn't satisfied with the picture I took of the milkweed flower and was going to delete it. But, first, I thought I'd try cropping it. Sometimes, when the overall picture is disappointing, cropping to a small section of the photo provides a more pleasing result. It wasn't until I began looking at different sections of the image that I saw the insect. I discovered that I rather liked that section of the photograph. I've included the original, uncropped, photograph, to show what it looked like before the editing.

Butterflies at the Reservoir

Today, I want to share some images of butterflies, seen enjoying the wildflowers at the reservoir during my walk on June 19th.

I'm becoming a fan of my new camera.

Drama in the Sky

On my walk at the reservoir on Wednesday morning, I watched as two male Red-Winged Blackbirds attacked a Red-Tailed Hawk, apparently in an attempt to drive him away from their nesting area.

These photos aren't great quality because the action took place at some distance. In order to bring the images in close enough to be able to see any detail, I had to do some serious cropping.

Here, one blackbird is on the back of the hawk; and the other is coming in for a landing.

The action moved out of the range of my camera as the blackbirds successfully drove the intruder from the area.