Critters!

I've been having fun with my new camera, and I was graced with a couple great opportunities to get some shots lately.

The dragonfly that refused to fly away was out at Innsbrook. Stunning colors! Looking at the structure of the wings close-up is pretty amazing.

My favorites are these snake photos, though. This bad boy was roaming our front yard the other day. The neighbors and I all decided that it was a rat snake. Works for me. I just know it was huge. Bennett was completely undeterred by it. Maybe I sensationalized it too much by snapping pictures like it was Paris Hilton.

After the throng of people went back in their houses, the snake got out of the tree and headed for the back yard. It was completely stretched out, and feeling like I was a safe distance away from its head, I knealt down to touch its tail. People do it all the time on TV, and the snakes don't seem to care much. This one cared! The second I touched him, he coiled up and turned around. Alright, alright, I get it! I jumped back... and then looked around to see if anybody saw me freak out. All clear. Whew! I should take more care to apply things I teach Bennett to other areas of my life. For instance, even she knows that we shouldn't touch kitty's bottom because she doesn't like it. Just apply that knowledge to the snake, and the crisis could have been avoided.

In the end, I guess boys are just drawn to these things. How else could you explain why I stopped to try to catch a newt while running this weekend. What was I going to do with it if I did catch it? You can be sure I would have taken it's picture.