Fauna

My dear friends who hate snakes: you're gonna wanna stop reading this before photo #4. Just so you know. And if any of you hate dragonflies or caterpillars, you might as well just stop reading altogether. V and I have been out and about quite a bit this summer. We've been to the lake, and we went camping. For your viewing pleasure, I'm breaking all this excitement down into categories including Flora, Fauna, and something else I haven't decided on yet. Mineral, maybe? Offer your suggestions.

I don't remember seeing these things in my childhood. My father in law says they're called army worms, and they aren't caterpillars, per se, as they never transform into moths or butterflies. A lot of folks seem to hate these, but I'm just glad they don't bite. And I think they come in some cool colors.

This dragonfly is not the same as the first one pictured, I don't think. Dragonflies are hard to photograph, it turns out. Don't say I never taught you nothin, now.

And perhaps the most excitement we had camping: this little garter snake slithered right through the middle of camp one afternoon. V was napping, and Crystal, Nancy, and I were sitting around talking when Crystal said "Hey, Nance! Look! No, don't look!" She and I both thought it was a great big earth worm before we realized it was more sinister than that. I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of the whole thing, and I wasn't brave enough to touch it, so this tail shot will have to do.

What say you? What summer adventures have you enjoyed so far?

PS: the first two photos are with the old-school Olympus camera, and the last two are from digital. Can you tell the difference? Explain, in 200 words or less.