Frogs spotted at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park (Chantilly, Va.)

Over spring break we really enjoyed exploring the nature to be found at the Ellanor C. Lawrence Park out in Chantilly, Virginia. There were geese, turtles, fish, birds, snakes and all sorts of land and water critters. And there were frogs. I hadn't seen so many since I lived up in New York on a lake.

Frog and snake - I was trying to get a shot of the snake at first without even realizing the frog was hanging out nearby

A closer view of the frog

Chilling out in the water

Attempt to zoom in on this guy a bit further out - a little blurry

Ice cream cone swiping squirrel on the National Mall

The squirrels on the National Mall are so bold. A few weeks back I was afraid one of 'em would come right at me as I was taking his photo. Fast-forward a couple of weeks and we were sitting on a bench enjoying the beautiful weather and we watched this squirrel jump into a nearby trash can, crab a cone, jump down and scurry into the grass to eat it. It was really funny to watch.

Here are some shots of the cone-swiping critter -

This squirrel freaked me out - he had no fear whatsoever

On Sunday we spent a good part of the day down in D.C. We arrived in the early morning before any of the museums opened and decided to see what critters and birds we could spot. This one squirrel was standing on top of a trash can and I missed the shot. So I tried to capture this little fella after he jumped off and he walked to me.

Not only did he start walking towards me, he kept getting closer and closer until he was about two to three feet away and he was still coming. I suddenly had visions of that squirrel that jumped out of the Christmas tree at the Griswold household (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation if you haven't seen it - YouTube clip). 

I skirted away, but not before taking a few pics. The first two are a little blurry.

Squirrel scurries up a dogwood tree

The squirrels have been so active the last few months and there seem to be more in my neighborhood running around than in previous years. Or maybe I'm just paying more attention. This critter was in my yard - as customary - as soon as it saw me, it ran up my dogwood tree. But the little guy was kind enough to pose for a bit.

Looking into the eyes of a butterfly

Today's series of photos was taken at one of my very favorite places in Washington D.C. - the Butterfly Pavilion at the National Museum of Natural History. We decided to make another visit last weekend and I spent a lot of time observing and photographing. Today's post focuses on the faces of the butterflies. One of my goals was to see how many I could capture (and clearly).

These are a few of the results:

This one amazed me as it actually landed on my finger while trying to take a photo of a totally different butterfly! However, I then turned my attention to this one who came to say hello

I like the way you can see the "fuzz" on this butterfly

I love these butterflies, not sure of its name, but its bright yellow and black. You can't see the yellow in this photo so much

I couldn't get this one any clearer with my zoom, but it was a butterfly that actively "posed" so I included it

Squirrel spotted on one of my morning walks this week

I took this photo earlier in the week as I was out trying to see what aspects of spring I could spot here in Northern Virginia. This squirrel caught my eye and he was so cute I had to stop and see if he'd pose for a photo. Was happy he didn't move (at least not until after I was finished).

[Related post: First day of spring in Northern Virginia ]

Snakes, spider webs and the Natural Bridge in Virginia

Today's photo heads down to the southwestern section of Virginia. Last July when making a trip, we took a side excursion to the Natural Bridge. I've always wanted to visit the Natural Bridge and we were so close I just *had* to do it.

It was really hot that day - but definitely worth it. We spent a couple of hours there. However, we quickly learned you have to be careful what walls you might decide to take a seat -

 

I don't know how clear this big web is...the smaller one to the right stands out, but this was a huge spider web I'd spotted while walking along the path behind the Natural Bridge

The Natural Bridge itself. On top of the bridge is Route 11. Driving over it, you'd never know what was underneath you. And standing below, you really don't see the traffic either.