
The birds nest shape of Queen Anne’s Lace is revealed as its seeds ripen. The flower was surrounded by the glow of goldenrod.

I went for a walk in our neighbourhood today, a familiar route but one I hadn’t taken in the past few weeks. I noticed that the variety of flowers in the gardens had dwindled and what remained was looking tired. The weather is still hot and summer is still with us but the feeling of a long lazy summer stretching out before us is no longer there.

There’s a wetland not far from town that we drive to a few times over the summer. When we pulled over we saw a solitary Egret fishing. I wasn’t using my longest lens but the 300mm did a fair job. After a few minutes, I looked away and when I looked back the bird was in the air. Look at those legs, pulled together like a diver in flight!


I usually see grackles near water or in trees, so I was surprised to see this bird walking along in the grass. I know people with bird feeders tend to dislike grackles as they will bully the other birds. I like them though and admire their keen eye and good looks (they also keep the insect population down).