Peace in the Forest

Yesterday Bill, Bailey and I returned home from a wonderful five days in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness of Oregon. It couldn't have been more perfect for Bill and I. For Bailey however, the trip had it's ups and downs. Bailey, as it turns out, is absolutley psychotic when it comes to flying insects. I mean not just absurdly annoyed by them, but driven stark raving mad by them. The poor sweetie spent every moment in camp in the tent. And still he was unable to relax. Does he not look a bit crazed in this picture?

But it was not all bad. Bailey loves to hike and most of our trip was spent doing just that. We expored every nook and cranny within a reasonable distance from our camp, sometimes on a trail, but sometimes bushwacking our way to our destination. For every mile Bill and I covered, Bailey traveled at least 5 or 6 more. He is one sore, exhausted pup today!

The weather could not have been more cooperative. No precipitation, just clear, mild days and crisp, cool nights. The sky was amazingly blue!

Over and around the lake hovered a gillion or so dragonflies. It must have been one of those "special" times of the year, cause there was dragonfly sex going on everywhere! It is an amazing process - the sound of four pairs of wings beating against each other as the pair sail over the lakes surface is not quiet. In time, the pair would land on a branch, detach, one would fly away, and the other had a cigarette! There were also Kamikazi dragonflies. These guys were vicious in their quest for supper. They would skim over the top of the lake, diving through clouds of knats over and over again, smacking the surface of the water with an audible and obvious force. At one point we noticed that one dragonfly did not return to the air after one such impact. But the determined little critter was swimming along the surface of the lake toward our shoreline. Bill, being Bill, got out there with a stick and rescued the poor bugger. He must have been exhausted, because he did not take off right away. It gave me the opportunity to get some really great shots of him at rest.

It was an awesome trip!