How about a bluebird to brighten up the day! There's just something about bluebirds that put a smile on my face, especially after multiple days of gray skies and rain. This male Eastern Bluebird will do the trick, from early October at Skokie Lagoons.

"Listen, here's what we do. Just be still, don't move, there's not a chance in the world anyone can see us in here. Then when it's clear, deuces out!"

Knowing that the vibrant sunsets from the heat, haze and smoke would soon be over as we got into late September, I'd scouted out a new spot that would allow not only for an image of the sun, but also a reflection of the sun onto a lake . . .

Not many Black Swallowtails graced us with their presence this summer, so it was a real treat to capture this male as it spent a little time gathering some nectar on its journey to somewhere.

Watched this Great Egret amble from the south end of a shallow pond/marsh to the north end, using its long legs as an advantage over its prey. It stayed in this one spot for a bit, and after zoning in on a small fish, this Great Egret made its move and lunged . . .

The woods are alive around here in northern Illinois with autumn splendor, especially the hard maples. Soon the fruits of the maple trees (which are called samaras  - the helicopters or spinners) will be falling to the ground just before the leaves give way. A magical time of the year!

Now for something a little different. One day a couple of months ago while out shooting, a grasshopper flew (yes, one of those flying grasshoppers) in from the east and landed a few feet away. It was blustery, wind from the south. It proceeded to jump up . . .

Found this beauty in the forest with a bead on an evening snack. This juvenile red-tailed hawk was active among the oaks and some of the fallen logs until it eventually bagged its prey and took it to a safe spot up in the tall oaks.

While going through images after a session, there were a couple with a bumblebee's middle leg raised up while another bumblebee was doing a flyby of the same flower (well, what's left of the flower after a goldfinch had plucked all of the petals off!). Intrigued, a little research led me to bumblebee.org . . .

Mama keeps a watchful eye on her lone eaglet as it struts with purpose from one end of the nest to the other. The eaglet would fledge about 5 days later.