A Caesar Creek Park Walk

I walk through Caesar Creek Lake Park about once each week.  I volunteered to be the photographer for the Army Corps of Engineers who own most of the park lands.  The camera is a good excuse for taking a walk and it has made me pay closer attention to the wonders of nature.

I recently posted a blog on The Blessing of Bees, so don’t want to just focus on bees in this blog.  There are plenty of colorful and interesting insects inhabiting the wildflowers.

I am intrigued when looking at the patterns one might note in various parts of flowers – are they mathematically arranged?  Is there a mathematical equation that can predict the pattern?  Is it possible that they represent a pattern and order that we cannot detect but which is nevertheless real?

I note often that each flower is often the home of particular insects, some of which are very tiny.  It is photography itself which has caused me to notice the ‘layers’ of life – and as we get closer we realize there is even minuscule life forms which live together in an interdependence.

Even the insects are often beautiful – and their physical diversity and the numbers of species amaze me.  The Creator has bestowed creativity on and within creation.  “Be fruitful and multiply”  – and the insects have obeyed that command of God!

I also did a separate post on The Hummingbird Moths (above), and though this insect attracts my interest, I won’t repeat more photos here.

For me at least, I never tire of seeing the butterflies and watching them float in the air.  But to picture them, I need them to alight somewhere!

A few feathered friends were among the animals I saw.

The Indigo Bunting below is notable because it has no blue pigmentation!  According to the Audubon FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS, it is actually black  (another deception: I’ll admit I took the photo at a nearby park but decided to include it here since I didn’t get a good photo of one on this walk)

There are three birds in the photo above.  They were moving around together but I was a bit too far away to get a good shot of them.  And I still can’t identify them.

The bird of prey above, I think is carrying its prey, though again I saw him at such a distance that the photograph can’t reveal the detail of what he is carrying.

I’m guessing that above is an Eastern Kingbird.

The above Red-winged Blackbird seemed alarmed at my presence and seemed to be warning the other birds about my presence.

And the above Canada Geese were this time entertaining to watch, though they are so ubiquitous in the area that I am not usually thrilled to see them.

Deer were out and about, and this fawn darted across the road which is why I didn’t have the opportunity to get a good photo of him.  I was driving slowly as I saw the deer on the side of the road, but many drivers have had unfortunate encounters with deer.

The wildflowers are always beautiful as are the native grasses.

There is also beauty in the tiniest of inanimate objects – below is a morning dew drop illuminated by the sun.

You can find links to my other photo-blogs at My Photo Blogs.

You can find the various sets of photographs I’ve taken at Caesar Creek Lake at  Caesar Creek Lake Photos.  Just click on any of the thumbnail photos to see the full set.