Ovipositing...

Such a neat word!  So geeky, just like me.  Anyway, in simple English, this female blue dasher dragonfly is laying eggs.  This is behavior that is hard to catch and so when I realized what I was seeing, I quickly took as many shots as I could before she finished her job.  Many were blurry but several were sharp enough to keep, and this one was my favorite.  You can see the tip of her abdomen just in the water where she is depositing eggs on that bit of vegetation.  What a cool thing to see!

(And, by the way, to get this shot, I was perched on a stone bridge over a stream, leaning waaayyyy over to try to get on a better level with the dragon.  Miracle I didn't fall in.)

Blue dashers are a very common dragon throughout much of the United States.  I posted a super-close up of a male on 3rd July of this year, showing his gorgeous multi-faceted eyes.

Took a hike this morning which was lovely .  Not too many birds, but some interesting insect life.  I've posted my 3 favorite pics starting HERE on Flickr.

Having dinner with some friends tonight and then tomorrow hubs is off to Watkins Glen, NJ for a race weekend.  Lots of excitement in the HeMan Racing Team...middle-aged men, living out a dream!  

We had a bear visit last night - heard a crash on the deck while we were watching TV which was the bear knocking over one of my "artfully arranged" branches.  In fact, the very branch that the woodpeckers in yesterday's blip were perched on.  Time for a new branch.  Luckily, nothing for the bruin to eat out there, and by the time we turned the outside lights on, he/she was gone.  Damn bears...  

I think the swallows have fledged - darn, I missed it.  I haven't checked the box to make sure, but things are very quiet out there.  Hopefully they will return next summer.

And in case you think I've been cured of Hummie-fever, think again!  I still take pics of them every day - I've posted one from this morning in Extras.

Be well, people.