Ferns, I

This post was inspired by Brenda of A Meditative Journey with Saldage.  When I saw these ferns they reminded me of the type of image she frequently posts.  That being said, I’m sure she would have done a far better job with them than I did.

Ripples And Pebbles

I wanted to capture contrasts in this image.  The bright sunlight filling the upper right corner of the frame versus the dark shadows of the stones.  There’s also the serene, softly moving ripples on the water contrasting with the smooth but fixed and solid stones.

Sometimes we can find our duality in the simplest places.  Without hard there is no soft. Without bright there is no dark.

Corolla Sunrise

 

Sometimes being a morning person pays off.  I took this photo during a trip to the beach last August.  I noticed the cloud bank that night and thought it was a shame the clouds probably wouldn’t be there at sunrise.  To my great surprise, the clouds barely moved overnight!  I awoke before dawn and watched this amazing sunrise slowly transform into morning.

Little Wood Satyr

This Little Wood Satyr alighted on some vegetation just ahead of me as I hiked through a marshy, open forest.  The strong, direct sunlight really lit up its wings.

Resting Elk

These three elk bulls relax at the edge of a meadow.  With velvet still on their antlers they seem like three friends, just hang out together.  Once mating season begins their will definitely be more rivalry between them.

Pearl Crescent

This Pearl Crescent butterfly rests peacefully in a bed of white and yellow flowers.  According to “An Instant Guide to Butterflies” by Pamela Forey and Cecilia Fitzsimons, male Pearl Crescents patrol their territory and will fly at other butterflies and insects.

Wild Daisies

Wild Daisies grow along an open trail on a late spring morning in Central Virginia.

Mourning Cloak

This Mourning Cloak butterfly stops to rest and feed in a patch of tiny, purple wild flowers.  I encountered it while hiking with a friend this spring in the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, VA.

 

King of the Mud Puddle

 

Walking in a park near the James River on spring afternoon, I stopped to see if there might be anything interesting in a large puddle adjacent to a small pond.  Sitting, quietly a few feet from the trail was this red toad.  It remained so motionless as I photographed it, I began to think it might be a toy frog somebody put there as a joke.

Stones Along the Shore

This photograph was taken on Hog Island Wildlife Management Area, along the James River, near Surry, VA.  It was a cold February morning, just after dawn.  While the entire scene looks wet, it was actually frozen.  The sand along the shore was a hard as cement and the foam around the river stones had been turned to ice.