Nest Building with the Queen of the Paper Wasps

Now that Spring is well upon us and the flowers are budding and the vegetable plants beginning to bear some blooms, the flying insects too are out in full force. But despite the purported benefits of wasps for gardeners such as myself (ie: they aid in pollination and eating harmful insects), I have a really difficult time allowing them to live in close proximity to my little vegetable patch, where they will fly by my ears and cause me to dance like a lunatic all season. But I would like to encourage them to visit when I'm not around.

Queen Paper Wasp (Red Wasp) building her nest alongst my Vegetable Garden

Spring's First Knockout Rose in Morning Light

The thing about getting a new macro lens, in my case the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens, is it causes you to want to photograph everything up close, really close. In this case, here's the first Knockout Rose of the Spring, pictured in early morning light.

Violets on the Rails to Trails, Black Creek Park

Although there a now hundreds of violets, and assorted other flowers, that litters the side of Black Creek Park's Rails to Trails, these were the first that I observed, as late Winter evolved into early Spring several weeks ago.

More Blue Were the Reflections at Black Creek

The later the day got, the deeper and more blue were the reflections on this early Spring day

at Black Creek, near Black Creek Park in Fultondale, Alabama.

Early Spring Reflections at Black Creek

Reflections in Early Spring at Black Creek, near Black Creek Park, Fultondale

Darby at Full Speed, Ears Flailing at the Rails to Trails

Even when running at full speed, ears flapping furiously, the apparent smile on Darby's face gives evidence to the notion that this creature knows how to soak in life's simple pleasures. On this day that included swimming in Black Creek, hiking in the woods, hopping through piles of leaves, and running the Rails to Trails at Black Creek Park, all of which gave rise to the need for a bath (in which Darby found no pleasure).

Darby Navigating the Waters at Black Creek Park

In keeping with recent Darby-themed posts, my Golden Retriever and I recently went on a walk at Black Creek Park, at which one of us could not help but navigate and submerge herself into the creek's still-frigid waters.