Garter Snake

While at the local beaver pond Thursday I spotted this bit of drama.  A garter snake had found a dead frog which was in a rather dried decomposed state, but yet seemed appropriate food, so it proceeded to ingest its good fortune.  With the frog in its mouth about half way, the snake could neither crawl away or finish its dinner any faster than nature would allow.

This, of course, left the snake vulnerable to any attacker.  However, it still had spunk enough left to face this large intruder and make a show of resistance even though the frog in reality prevented it from any form of attack.  After about ten minutes it worked the frog slowly through its throat, into its stomach, and crawled away to digest its dinner.

A few minutes later I wandered into this serene setting where mama and her yearling twins were making their way calmly along a ditch bank.

Knowing where they would next show I went that way, and sure enough they came over the bank fairly closely in front of me.  They stopped long enough for a quick photo.  We looked each other over for a few seconds before they wandered on their way unperturbed.

Indian River

Friday I was near Philadelphia, New York paying my respects at my grandfather’s grave.  As I crossed over the Indian River on the Sandy Hollow Road I couldn’t help but stop to take a shot of this very photogenic falls on the river.  The water endlessly tumbles down over the rocks before spilling southward into the pond.

From the other side of the road bridge this is the view as the river continues southerly.  A few miles away it turns and heads back northeastward, but there is no prettier spot on the river than this, at least not that I know of.

Later Friday evening, right at sunset, I snapped this photo at my local beaver pond.  I thought it very pretty and serene, but there is a bonus beaver nearly in the center of the photo if you look for it.