~ Independence of a Different Kind ~

4th of July ~ While most folks celebrated with picnics, games, and loud fireworks I celebrated in a more quiet and peaceful way. Oh, I had boom, bangs, and explosions of my own, but they came in a more quiet form of the "oohhs" and "aahhs".

While I was with family who were participating in all of the above I retreated to my own little part of the lake for awhile, with my chair, binoculars, net, and notebook and noted many wonders of a summer world around me. I witnessed the "declaration of independence" for many creatures in their own ways....including myself.

Summer time birds abounded up and over the lake. The purple martins--free of nesting responsibilities and rearing young--were sailing with a celebratory flight over the lake with the barn swallows. A red-tailed hawk soared lazily above with a turkey vulture while a common yellowthroat sang from across the way. A warbling vireo sang incessantly from high in a tree the whole day long. Two green herons stopped by along the side lines of the lake for a bit. A chimney swift, not quite free of its summer duties yet, made pop ins and outs of the club house chimney. Bobwhite quails seemed to sound patriotic in their singing off in a distance. The baltimore orioles were summer bright while the cedar waxwings sounded like high pitched piccolos.

While taking in all of the sky bound avifauna I had a front row seat to a whole different realm of winged beauty. Glimmering and shimmering in the sunlight was a whole BIG world on one small edge of the lake of dragonflies and damselflies. There were dozens and dozens and dozens of them! I sat in my chair entranced of the comings and goings of many! There were widow skimmers, black saddlebags, eastern amberwings, eastern pondhawks, halloween pennants, and blue fronted dancers. The damselflies were almost too delicate for my eyes to behold. They all paraded to and fro right in front of me bedazzling me with their tandem flights, their dips, and their grace. The sun shined and glimmered off their wings. Now and then my gaze was averted to a turtle watching me watching them. I wondered if he was as amazed at me as I was of them. A water strider strode by. Tiger swallowtails were puddling on the beach with a stray spicebush swallowtail with the group. Cicadas called....

Later in the evening I seen my type of fireworks...lightning bugs and showy stars...bats and luna moths....the katydids sounded off. And I celebrated...celebrated this life, its colors, its solitudes and I said to myself, "Happy 4th of July"....