Blue Grass stripper pits odds and ends....

We drove around the Blue Grass stripper pits the other day.  We could tell the water level was lower than normal, but still plenty of water to attract birds and animals.

 We saw lots of Goldfinches!  

There was a field of dried up sunflower heads, but the seeds must still be good. 

 And the Goldfinches love the water's edge.

 Getting ready for a bath

"Ah.....that is so cool!" 

 Splishing and splashing

"Don't you wish you were in the water, too?"  (Yes, I do!) 

 Only saw one heron along the far edge of one of the pits.

There were dozens of these Pennant dragonflies sitting on the tips of grasses along the edge of the fields. 

Not sure if this is a sparrow or a female finch, but it had its own little bathing spot away from the Goldfinches. 

 A little private pool to splash around in.

Lots of thistles going to seed! 

This might explain why the Goldfinches were so plentiful, too.  They love thistle seed.

Back at the wetlands....

Now that we've had some rain and things look "happier" at the wetlands, I went back yesterday.  I have missed my walks there so much, but couldn't bear how awful everything looked while it was dry.

A Blue Dasher male doing his best Olympic gold medal handstand :-)  

I give him a 10 and the gold medal for the USA!

Is everyone enjoying the Olympics?  I am!  I love all the coverage this year that allows the chance to see a lot of less popular events that often don't get shown on TV.

 Another Blue Dasher male waiting for a female to cruise by.

An Eastern Pondhawk male

 Only one Mallard and no geese on the water at the moment.  I think everyone else moved on as soon as the young ones could fly because it was so dry the last 2 months.  There will be more stopping by this fall, I'm sure.

 A wasp on the Swamp Milkweed.  I was fascinated by the feet.....all the little bristles that are on them.

 I hope you can see them well, if you click to make it bigger.  I never realized how bristled the feet were!  Will have to look them up and find out more.

I saw a few butterflies but all at too great a distance or constantly moving.

 Turtles on the logs in the sunlight.  I think the one on the left is getting ready for a "dive".  

Maybe this is an Olympic swim team getting ready for a relay!  

Anyone else have any "Olympic" birds or critters to post?  Let's get into the spirit of the games.

Watching me, watching him.

Those claws on their feet sure look sharp!

 We could see a very large turtle shell peeking out of the water about 100 feet from where we were standing.  (that thing between the two logs).  I thought it was trash in the water at first because it looked so big.  I tried to creep closer, but several people walked by before I got there.

Here it has sunk down some and stuck its head up....that's a very large looking head and eye!  Would love to know how big this one is!  Can't see enough to know what kind it is, but I have seen really big snappers in this area.

Wet again!....

What a difference 2" of rain can make!  We went by the wetlands for the first time in a month.  We have recently begun to have some thunderstorms and brief showers again.  I was hoping it had made a difference at the wetlands and was thrilled when I got there and saw......

....the water level back to normal!  What a change from the photo below from last month.

This was actually not as bad as it got.  The last time I went before we got rain, it was so bad, I just cried and didn't take any photos.  This area above was almost totally dry.

 What a joy to walk around and see water and life again!  This bee is enjoying the asters in the meadow area.

 Catalpa pods hanging over my head.

Elderberries 

 A Great Blue Heron on the creek

I don't know the name of this wildflower if anyone else does.  But was overjoyed at the lovely purple color. 

 Cardinal flower?

 I saw two skinks on the rails.  Never got very close, but got a couple of shots.

 Sumac

Swamp Milkweed....very popular with Monarch butterflies.  I didn't see the Monarch caterpillar hidden in the middle of the flower until I got home.  I have seen so few butterflies this year, I didn't expect to see any or caterpillars either! 

Thistles 

A nice big turtle on one of the logs.

One of the many yellow late summer flowers.

The big surprise were the Goldfinches eating the duckweed on the creek!  I've seen them do this before, but it was a very welcome sight.  There were at least a dozen scattered around pecking at the weeds.

 I didn't see the blue dragonfly to the left of this one when I took the shot.  It was good to see dragonflies buzzing around the water again, too.  I saw at least four different kinds.

 Stretching down!

 "This is all mine!"  

I think there is plenty to feed everyone. 

 Greens for supper.....does it have seeds they eat??

Under the fallen tree. 

What a wonderful surprise to see all this life in the wetlands again!

God is good!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below,

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!"

Amen