Killing Time

Little miss is currently participating in a soccer camp put on by the Simpson Women's Soccer coaches.  Little man and I have been finding ways to kill time while she's at the camp since I don't see the need to drive to Indianola, drop her off, drive home, drive back out to get her, and then drive back home again...

Yesterday, while little miss was playing soccer, little man and I ventured out to Lake Ahquabi.  I'm told there is good fishing to be had off their dock and it must be true because the place was hoppin' at 9:30 am.  I do have my fishing license but our poles are currently elsewhere so little man and I walked around instead of fishing.

Hazy photo compliments of an angry lens (it's a little humid around these parts at the moment and it had to acclimate itself).

 

It was nice and quiet and really relaxing, actually, despite the heat.

It wasn't long before found a new friend.  This little dragonfly was nearing its end, I think.  The wings weren't quite 100% and it didn't have a lot of oomph. I have dubbed him "Evinrude".
 

 

We must have passed his tests because he would fly up in the air and then land on us. Either that or he was just that tired.

We found a nice little spot for him and went about our business. He was still there when we left.

 

Here are some other shots from our expedition.

 

Some of the trails need a bit of work.

 

You know me, I can't resist fungus!

 

Today, little man and I were going to explore Summerset State Park. I'll admit, parts were really pretty but the "bike path" was right on the main road you drive on and aside from a few docks here and there for fishing, there wasn't much that we could see. So we went back to Ahquabi and went on a few trails we didn't go on yesterday but noticed as we were driving out. It had rained this morning so everything was a little wet. It was so nice in the woods though - much cooler than out in the sun (obviously).

As we were walking through the woods there was a bit of a traffic jam - we found a snail cruising the trails as well :)

 

We said our goodbyes, put the snail back where we found him and off we went. I was enjoying all the moss and fungi.

 And then we found a second snail!  This one was a bit camera shy.

We also found some critter dwellings. Wow, that area stunk. 

On our way to pick up little miss I had to stop and take some photos of one of my favorite flowers. Up close, they're nothing spectacular (as far as flashy goes) but I love the lines of periwinkle/purple along the roads in the Summertime.

Little man was pumped to check out this bridge.

 

There are two more days of soccer camp. Tomorrow we might give Summerset a fair shot instead of just driving through. We also found a different nature park close to Ahquabi so perhaps we'll fit that in as well...

Random little miss shot.

The June Extravaganza - Flora, Fauna, and a Cicada Explosion

Though the flowers are not in full bloom, bright colors and textures could be had.  We had a very busy week and tons of pictures were taken so I thought it best to break things up a little bit.  What a hot and humid week...   Great for growing things though!  Here and there I managed to poke around the gardens and took a walk or two to see what could be found.

Little man and I set out to explore some of the 17-year cicadas that are out and about in hoards right now.  It was very cool experience - I was around 17 last time these little fellows came out to play and I am glad that their current arrival came about during a time where little man is so into bugs and could really appreciate it! This was the first cicada he caught. I say "caught" loosely though - if you stood still long enough you could bet on at least one landing on you. He took little time in showing the cicada to his cousins, Z and H.

 

This is the one I named Kristoff. Little man was swimming in the lake (more on that later) and he (?) landed on the dock, hung out, and proceeded to fly right into the lake.

 

 

 

Evidently Kristoff is a bit challenged in the navigation department... Little man took one look at the poor drowning cicada and jumped into the lake to save him, and save him he did (after he dunked him a time or two while swimming back to the dock...).

 

 

 

I don't know if Kristoff was just too traumatized by the experience to fly or what, but he hung out on me for a few hours instead of flying off again.  After a while, I took him to a tree to climb onto since I didn't think my MIL would appreciate a house cicada.

 

 

 

I love the wings. I have a knitting project or two formulating in the 'ol noggin as we speak to highlight some of their wing attributes :)

 

 

Little miss even got in on the cicada action.

 

 

One of Kristoff's friends dropped by for a visit as we were heading to Kristoff's new tree.

 

 

There was one area in particular that was absolutely deafening to walk through due to all of the cicadas. There had to be at least a couple hundred in one little bush so you can only imagine how many there were in the tree above... Little man grabbed a few to take back to the house and we let them all go after he showed them around to everyone.

 

 

 

These were scattered everywhere.

 

 

 

I grabbed a bunch and am planning on creating some sort of artwork with it. I have a few ideas, I just have to see about materials so stay tuned for that.