Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.
The Elusive American Bittern Hunting Frogs a the Sourland Mountain Preserve Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec).

David's Images of the Day Photoblog
The Elusive American Bittern Hunting Frogs a the Sourland Mountain Preserve Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec).
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on a Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 300 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.
This one does appear to be a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) based on 1) the lack of any banding on the lateral side of the thorax; 2) thysbe always has yellowish or pale colored legs.
Ever Wonder How a Deer Scratches its Ear? Then the Doe stuck her tongue out in response to me taking pictures of her fawn. Images taken through my screened kitchen window with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
The well drilling company arrived early this morning to drill two holes for a closed-loop geothermal heat pump. The heat pump will replace my oil furnace, oil hot-water heater, and air conditioner. One more step to reduce my carbon footprint.
Individual images from the slideshow can be viewed here.
Two of the Burma water-bottle gourds in my wildflower meadow flowered today. It seems like they open at night when the moon is nearly full. I don’t know if a night moth is needed to fertilize to get one of the gourds. The one planted over a year ago in Florida produced a gourd over 1 meter in length. The image of the flower is behind a nylon mesh that I hope will keep it protected from the deer tonight.