We returned to "Baker Mountain" near Romney, West By-God, over the weekend

Click on the thumbnails to get the full-size images

Clockwise, from top left: Grasshopper, Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala),crab spider (Thomisidae) in Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota), unidentified butterflies mating, possibly Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)

of August 12 and 13, to retest the pond we visited in early June. It was a fun trip as usual, and we were not

Some references: Red-banded hairstreak Pearl Crescent Butterfly milkweed Queen Anne's Lace American Copper Common Wood Nymph

hindered by rain, which was somewhat threatening the entire time. I couldn't take too many pictures because I spent a good chunk of my time in the water or otherwise engaged in activities that don't gel well with photography. My fishing luck continued from the Michigan trip (Aug. 2-6, 2000 - coming back to these pages soon), catching nothing again, but did snag a lot of algae on my back from the more frivolous moments when the pond weeds went flying. I think Susie has photos, and maybe I'll borrow a few to put up here. We were quite messy when it was all over.

I used my macro lens the entire trip, exclusively. My idea was to get in close to a number of the insects (especially the butterflies) that make their homes in the area. One of my goals as a photographer is to take sharp, bright macro photos, and get them in as close as possible. Only one of these shots on this page took a Photoshop enhancement. Take a guess which one - It's probably very, very easy.

Clockwise, from top left: hoverfly (Syrphidae) on unidentified flower, Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos), Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) on Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota), American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), also on Queen Anne's Lace

I have another roll still in my camera and quite possibly a roll that I have forgotten in my camera bag, so you'll have to come back to see what else I've taken - as well as the others' contributions.

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)