Birds - The Heron

On my daily stroll by the pond today I came across this heron bird that was so intent on catching his lunch he didn't seem to mind having his picture taken. He was slowly walking along the edge of the pond watching for fish.While stealthily creeping closer to the heron bird I almost stepped on this furry little rat-beaver. I am really not sure what he is. He was about twice the size of a guinea pig with a tail like a rat. He didn't seem to mind my presence either. He was too busy enjoying a lunch of flowers and grass.After a while of watching my heron friend pace along the water's edge I finally captured him snagging a fish.After eating his fill my friend spread his wings and flew away.

The Pond

Here are some of the other pictures I took out by the pond yesterday.

The Dragonfly

Today was a beautiful day. I went for a stroll by the pond this afternoon and stumbled across some amazing dragonflies.
This was the first time I had the opportunity to photograph a dragonfly with my SLR. Have you ever tried to photograph a dragonfly with a regular point and shoot camera? It's not easy. Dragonflies do not sit still for very long. In the past I would sit very still and when I saw one land I would try to creep up on it as quickly and quietly as I could. If I succeeded I then had to try and get the camera to focus on the dragonfly so I could take a decent shot before it flew away. I hate auto-focus! Here are some pictures I took in Tennessee in 2006 with my Nikon Coolpix 5900.
And here is one taken in Illinois the same year with the same camera. I have a 55-200mm zoom lens for my Nikon D60 SLR camera. I no longer have to spend hours sneaking up on insects! The zoom lens allows me to take nice close up shots from farther away so I don't scare the dragonflies. It also has manual focus. Here are some more of the photos I took today. I love Shooty!