Snowhill Waterfront Park

Last weeks visit was to Snowhill Waterfront Park in St. Mary’s County, MD.  It was a lovely spot with a wide beach, several barns and a house that were private property, a well decoration and a really interesting tree.  There was a picnic pavilion and room for the upgrade they eventually plan for sports facilities.  We also drive to Sandgates road to see the water view.

A very twisty tree

Jim

Green darner dragonfly

Mimosa near Sandgates

Ten Minutes with a Dragonfly

Jim called me over to view a swamp darner dragonfly stuck in the window of our garage, trying to get out.  

We wanted to let it loose, but also hoped to photograph it.  It had pretty green stripes and blue eyes.  Jim put it in a mesh bag and I took it outside.  I temporarily put it in a plastic container with lots of open air and ran for my camera.  I took a few mediocre shots then decided to let it loose using a long stick. 

 I poked the stick into the container and the dragonfly clung to the stick for 10 minutes!  It could easily fly away!  I took advantage of the time and gently moved the stick in a many directions while the dragonfly posed for me before flying away.  I moved it in front of the driveway, the lawn, and the garden and changed the angles.  Very cool!  Here is one of my best shots.

Exotic Water Lilies

I recently photographed some gorgeous water lilies. It was a little too early in the day, but I liked them anyway, even with strong shadows.
I have photographed water lilies 3 or 4 times in recent years. I find that I usually need a long lens to get good "closeup" photos of these lovely flowers, rather than a macro lens. I used a 70-300 zoom for these images. The flowers never seem to be near the edge of the pond!
If you know the names of these beautiful lilies, please comment. 😊