Random Hallmark Moments: back at Kearney

   Today was another glorious fall day, and I was privileged to be in another 1-day workshop up in Kearney, MO. We were inside all day, but the sun was streaming in and as much as I enjoyed the day & learned a lot, the outdoors was making itself irresistible! Debra kindly ended the day a bit early, so I had time to briefly hike around the nearby trails before the house's caretaker shooed me off the property.

   In the afternoon sun, all the colors were incredibly vibrant—even the earth tones. The rich browns were a sharp contrast to the brilliantly blue sky & the freshly-cut grass path.

The pond also gleamed with color, from the water to the lilypads:

 Most of the thistles had already turned white & fluffy & blown away, but I found one purple one remaining:

   There was a lot of yellow around, from the tall grass to the wildflowers, to a little butterfly:

And these strange berries, whatever they are!

   Heading back toward the house, two white-tailed deer spotted me & bounded off in the distance. I got my camera out just in time to almost miss them completely (but take my word for it, that's a tail!):

   And then a truly amazing encounter. I was walking along, then stopped & retraced my steps when I heard the buzzing of wings. A large praying mantis had just snagged an equally-large dragonfly. If it weren't for the noise, I would have walked right by them. The mantis stared me down as I got my lens too close. Afraid that I was going to steal her prize, she retreated further into the grasses, never taking her eyes off me.

   When she was convinced that I was no threat, she quickly went about removing the poor dragonfly's head. Its legs kicked & struggled the whole time. Hard to watch; these are equally cool bugs and I hated for either of them to lose!

   Then it was back across the bridge to the house past the weeping willow over the lilypond:

   This next shot reminds me to always look forwards AND backwards... look how different the mood is due to the direction of the light!

Almost back to the house...

The trees around the house:

   And the garden on the side. Wish I could have brought the dogs up with me & hung out on the porch for a while!