I arrived in Upper Sandusky late Friday afternoon, where I met up with Nina to do a little exploring before the workshop got under way. Nina had attended the workshop last year, so she already knew all the hot spots and graciously shared them with me. We checked out several lovely areas at Killdeer that Friday night, and one of those areas brought me my first glimpse of Blue Dasher dragonflies. They assume an interesting posture from time to time that is know as the obelisk. It doesn't look unlike a gymnast doing a handstand on a pommel horse! It is thought to be a territory display, but it is also hypothesized to be a mechanism for regulating body temperature (both males and females will adopt this pose).
Male Blue Dasher dragonfly in obelisk pose atop a cattail.
Fast-forward to Sunday morning, when we awoke to a foggy, humid morning. There was a slight breeze, which is what I assume helped the fog to recede much earlier than I would have expected (we all met up at 7am that morning, and the fog was all but gone by 7:30, which is uncharacteristically early for fog burn-off in my experience). Luckily there was a little time for photography before our first session got under way that morning, as the dew made everything sparkly and beautiful beyond compare.
Squirrel-tail Grass, accentuated by the morning dew
Spiders often aren't on most of our radars unless we happen to cross paths with them, but just because we don't see them doesn't mean they aren't out there. The conditions that morning were just right to betray their presence... everywhere!
A cobweb festival! How many do you count?
Dueling webs?
Perfection
It really was a great weekend!
10 comments:
Gorgeous images, Heather! Brighter and more enticing than Christmas lights!
The cobwebs are fantastic!! Looks like you encountered the local web show :)
You and Nina together! Wow, what a weekend you must have had. Love these beautiful spiderwebs, Heather. ~karen
Vickie - Thank you. If only they were visible more often than just during those fleeting moments on dewy mornings....
Aluajala - It was quite a show, indeed!
Karen - Thanks, we both had a great time learning about lots of interesting stuff.
I love looking at all the spiderwebs on a dewy morning, but you are right - I completely forget them when the sun is shining! My favourite photo is the dew on the squirrel tail grass! I have tried to capture something like that, but not done nearly so well as you have!
Those webs are gorgeous! Lovely photo series Heather!
Wow.
Is all I can say.
Hmm, I thought I had commented on this. Apparently not.
So, great photos! :)
Loved the 'hand-standing' Darner and the cobwebs. Absolutely super.
Judy - Thanks for your comments. As to the squirrel tail grass shot, I have to credit the light and the dew for making that shot what it is!
John, Meg, Andy, Frank - Thank you all for your kind words.
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