During mid-day on Sunday we visited the far bog where the beavers have their latest empire. We did not expect to see any of the beavers during the mid-day visit but we hoped we could see some of the ducks, blackbirds, or assorted woodpeckers that we typically see sometimes.

Our hopes were realized when we approached and caught this turtle on a log getting a sun tan.

As I found a spot to hook up Murphy where he couldn’t manage to drink some of the bog water (he has tricked me a couple times) and can stay in the shade, I crashed through underbrush to get to the shoreline near the beaver den.

My noise disturbed four ducks who were hanging around (and hoping I would go away). Three of them went airborne to escape but this one here just paddled away from me.

As I stood around waiting for something else to come by, something else came by: two hummingbirds showed up with a buzzing and hovered over the flowering jewel weed along the bog shore. An unexpected treat!

One of them flew off while the other hung around; I got a number of shots, most were out of focus or near focus, like this one here.