We were out on Old Still River Road and Hwy 529 down to Big Lake on our National Aboriginal Day on the Summer Solstice. Here are some sights seen along the way.
A well worn Painted Lady visits a naturalized Red Clover blossom for some nectar…
The Meadow Rues are bursting into bloom now…
This Sweat Bee is gathering pollen on Common Yarrow, which have just started blooming.
Beware this crab spider poised to ambush a “customer” with its poised front claws.
Another one, poised to strike:
Up closer. Click on the photo so see its eyes clearly.
It has retracted its front claws, perhaps to move. Or maybe to make picture-making a little easier for the photographer.
As we passed the pond at Big Lake…
We saw more critters feeding on Yarrow nectar …
Monarch and Sweat Bee sharing a blossom …..
Alas! for this Sweat Bee. At last! says this crab spider!
If you click on the photo you can see one of the spider’s eyes as it sucks the vital juices out of the bee’s “neck”.
On the way home, the setting sun illuminated this nice triplet of Yellow Pond Lily blooms …
One of my internet acquaintances says, “the connection one gets from trying to understand the subtleties of nature is truly the best.”
PS The shelf fungus at the top of this post appears to be Dryad’s Saddle. It is always wise to positively ID a mushroom from several sources before tasting it.
Brtthome's Blog 
Dear Tom . beautiful views .. thanks to you I am now more informed as to the identificaton of the wonders that I see .. numerous butterflies to delight here AND song birds AND flowers too. xoxo