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Female common yellowthroat Widowskimmer dragonfly It seems that whenever I go to the sanctuary, I see far more insects than birds.  Today I toted my big lens, hoping to photograph some birds.  They were out enjoying this beautiful cool, breezy morning as much as I was, but they made sure to stay far away.  I saw and/or heard a blue jay, bluebirds, robins, sparrows of all sorts, mourning doves, tree swallows, a cardinal, and common yellowthroats.  I even saw a murmuration of starlings swirling far in the distance.  Alas, only a female yellowthroat posed for my lens, but I was happy to find her.

Pink grasses Fall is coming soon to the sanctuary.  The grasses are waving their seeds around.  I loved the reddish pink ones that glowed in the sunlight and danced in the breeze.  Milkweed plants are busy generating their fluffy seeds inside their still-green prickly pods.  Caterpillars are emerging, and soon will be forming their chrysalises before transforming into something with wings.  After Googling the one I found in the photo, I learned it is the Danaus plexippus, and it will become a monarch butterfly! Danaus plexippus: This one will be a monarch butterfly!

Virginia creeper Like a vinyl record! Upon leaving the sanctuary, I found a sunlight sapling with Virginia creeper climbing up its trunk, as well as a well-spun spiderweb woven between branches.  Be careful if you walk in any of the wooded areas, so as not to end up with a face full of spider web, and perhaps even its denizen, stranded into your hair.

I found my friend Mary, another photography enthusiast, standing by my car as I was leaving.  I wish I had had the time to walk it again with her, but my day ahead is filled with jobs to be done.  She was wearing sandals, so we both agreed she needed sturdy footwear, which luckily she had in her car.  The grasses are getting tall, and they are usually wet.  I directed her to the last blooming milkweed in the sanctuary, where she is likely to find a monarch.

Tomorrow should be just as nice as today.  I hope you visit the sanctuary -- please sign in at the little pavilion, and that way, I will know you were there!

<Thanks for reading my blog entry, which is part of a personal photography project to bring attention to and to benefit the Fred Archibald Sanctuary in New Market, MD.  The sanctuary is owned and managed by the Audubon Society of Central Maryland.  Copyright 2017 Cam Miller.  All photographs are for sale upon request.>