Might as well stay with summer theme...

If you are as cold as we are, you might enjoy the summery feel to this photo.
 

A favorite subject....

 Dragonflies are one of my most favorite things to photograph.  This is from a few years ago.

First dragonfly session of the year

 Roger asked if I was wanting to go somewhere...I jumped at the chance to be out for a bit.  So headed to what I call the swamp area.  Even though I did not see a much wildlife, it was soothing to my soul.  There were lots of these dragonflies.  For the longest time, they were continually on the move.  As I stayed there, there were a few that started to cooperate.  

Summer capture

 I think this is a female Widow Skimmer....correct me if I am wrong.  I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but until I started blogging, I never knew so many types of dragonflies existed.

Ready for take-off!

 This was taken back in July.   I hope I get to see more,  but I would not bet on a chance to photograph any of them.

Dragonfly on log....

 This dragonfly paused long enough for me to get a couple or three shots back in June.

Dragonfly

 This is one of the few dragonflies I have photographed this summer.

Smile for the camera!

 

I always seem to get a few good pics anytime we go this swamp area.

This is when we were there two weeks ago.  As you can see,  it is covered by duckweed.  A guy came by on a gator type vehicle.  I don't know what the real name is.  Our neighbor calls them a side by side 4-wheeler.  He grew up in the area and said the swamp extends about two miles in each direction and said he used to wade it from the road to the end as a kid.

Dragonfly + need help with flower identiy.

 I thought about what photo to use in this post.

so first, I will share another dragonfly shot from last week.

Can anyone identify the above?  I have not not seen it before.  I wondered was it Pink Loosestrife.

Update, Michael Rawluk's wife was the first to identify this as Persicaria and I see several of you agree.  Thank you all so much. 

What's a visit

What's a visit to the swamp area without a few shots of dragonflies.

I am pretty sure it is the same dragonfly in both photos.  Just compare the wings.

Dragonflies again...

I had to try one in monochrome...which is your favorite?

I really cannot say if this is two different dragonflies or the same one.  Seems like one will pic a spot it likes to sit and keep returning to that area.  So it may be the same in both photos.

Say cheese!

Even though I had my camera on a mono-pod I simply could not hold steady.  So, this is the best I could do.  This is not a cropped photo...

Smile!

Look at that big smile!  Do you see it?  I never tire of seeing dragonflies...

Dragonflies today....

I think these are the first dragonflies I have captured this year.....

I am liking the shadows in these shots.

Wings and things....

Roger and I drove through the strip pits...

about the only things moving were dragonflies.

Smile!

They were very cooperative tonight but I sure had trouble holding steady, plus getting my little P&S camera to focus on them and not something else.

We also saw a few monarchs here and there, but this was the only lucky shot I got...

Also saw this:

We did see a hawk....but did not get a good look at it.  It was flying just about a yard above the ground....which made me wonder if it was a Northern Harrier.

I could not resist a pic of Bird's Foot Trefoil....I think it is one of the pretties little flowers.

I clipped his wings...

I accidentally clipped this dragonfly's wings in this shot...

This is a bit better....

This is a different dragonfly...you can see its smile...

This shot is a stroke of luck....I had my camera zoomed in looking for a turtle and happened to see him.    I couldn't believe my luck.

Dragonflies

Seems like this is now the most common dragonfly out at the strip pits.  I see a few others, but nothing compared to these.

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If you look close you can almost see their 'smile' in these last two shots.

Born on the Bayou

A mama on her nest....

I always love turtles on a log...

Just a little bit closer

Love this place...

I love dragonflies...I did not know there was such a variety till I started blogging.

Thought it would be fun to share a few from the backwaters here...

Landing pad

A landing pad of a different sort.  But dragonflies do remind me of helicopters!  This one was taken this past summer in July. 

Summer shot

This is one of the very few dragonfly shots I took this summer...