Garter Snake....

Like the frog shots, from last week, I got right down at eye level to take this photograph. At least I wasn't balancing on some rocks but I was able to lie right on the ground.

Muskrat Love....

I took this with my Minolta point and shoot a few years ago.

Hummingbird Moth....

Here's a photo I had in my files. This one, along with all the frog shots I posted last week were shot on film back in the early 1990's. The photo of the peeper on the pussy willow branch was actually taken in 1989.

It Snowed Last Night...

Just kidding, this photo is from a couple of winters ago.

Pickerel Frog....

Leftover frog shot..

Gray Treefrog...

I end the week with this photo of a gray treefrog.

Frogs in Duckweed...

These shots are similar to the one I posted on Monday but these were taken at a different time. The water was shallow and the frogs were in the middle of a small pool but there were rocks sticking out of the water. To get eye level with the frogs I had a knee on one rock and the other knee on a different rock and my elbows doing the same. It was precarious, one slip and I would've gotten wet, but I think the photos were worth it.

Another Peeper....

Here is another peeper but this time it's peeping. It's not easy getting a photograph like this. The first thing I had to do is put on my waders and head to a local wet area with my camera and a flashlight. The peepers are so small they are very difficult to find even when you can hear them right in front of you, they like to hide among the reeds and grasses. After about 45 minutes I finally located this guy and pointed the flashlight at him and used the light to help focus. After two hours of being surrounded by peeping peepers my ears were ringing on the walk home.

Spring Peeper...

I should've posted this last spring but I didn't find it until yesterday when I was going through my files looking for frog shots.

Who Let The Frogs Out?

All this week I'll be posting various photographs of frogs that I have taken.

Jumping Spider....

Another critter that dwells on the black eyed susans. Obviously this is an extreme close up, the actual size of this spider is about 1/4 inch across.

Summertime Sky....

Last winter I posted tons of pictures from Sabattus River, well here's one from the summer. That house has quite a view.

More Goldenrod....

Most people mistake the goldenrod for causing allergy symptoms but it's really the ragweed which blooms at the same time.

Goldenrod.....

The skies finally cleared on Saturday (temporarily) and the goldenrods are blooming on the roadsides everywhere so I took a little walk to get some pictures.

Odd Sighting....?

We've been getting a lot of rain lately, between Thursday and Friday last week we had over 3 inches. Friday afternoon the showers finally broke so I decided to take a walk and I found this guy walking right in the middle of the road. I don't live near any lakes or ponds so I have no idea where it came from, it's quite a mystery. After I snapped the photos I put it in a bucket and took it to the river and released it.

Katydid....

I found this guy a day before I found the grasshopper but unlike the grasshopper this katydid jumped off the blossoms after I took a few photographs and I haven't seen it since.

Grasshopper...

I found this guy right in the middle of my black eyed susan patch so I slowly eased my tripod into place and took some photos. It didn't have a problem with that but it was a little distracted by my foil reflector but not enough to hop off. If you look closely you can see the shine of the reflector in its eye. I took this picture in the morning and I checked back later in the evening and it was still in the same spot, it didn't move all day.

Two More......

There isn't much I can say about these photos, just continuing my "life on a black eyed susan" series.

Yellow on Yellow...

I keep a section of my lawn unmowed, it's my minature meadow. Since black eyed susans are biannuals, every other year the unmowed section is covered with them. For the rest of this week I'll be posting photos of the critters that I find on the blacked eyed susans. I found the crab spider on Saturday and I took the top photo. I went and checked again on Sunday and it was still there but this time it was having dinner so I took the bottom picture.

Chicory...

Chicory is easy to spot on the roadside; it's tall and the bright blue really stands out. Something else I've noticed is the blossoms only last one day and by looking at this photo you can tell the hoverflies really like them when they're blooming.

Depford Pink and Hoverfly....

While I was photographing yesterdays batch of black eyed susans I found this lone depford pink growing among them. To take the picture I manuevered my camera so the out of focus black eyed susans would be my background. I figured the yellow would offset the pink nicely. While I was set up; the hoverfly landed on the pink and posed for me, I got a bunch of pics and this was my favorite. Yes, my camera was on a tripod and I did use my foil relfector.