This is not a Great Blue Heron. It's quite obviously a dragonfly. It's a dragonfly that landed on a leaf right in front of me while I was stalking a great blue heron. You see, over the summer I've been watching and keeping track of the blue herons that frequent the riverbank of the St. Joseph river in Mishawaka, IN at the riverwalk. Every morning that I am there I can always find the herons in basically the same spot, give or take a few yards. On this morning I decided to quietly make my way down to the riverbank and slowly move along a precarious pathway to get close enough to photograph the heron from a much better angle and view. I was doing my best impression of ninja'ing my way ever closer, being careful to watch my foot placement so as not to make any startling noises that might spook the giant bird. With only a few more steps to go and some low hanging branches to get past this dragonfly unceremoniously lands on a leaf right in front of my face. Surprised by this unexpected visit I stopped too abruptly and doing that caused me to step onto some loose gravel that totally spooked the great blue heron that was just a few yards away. 

Needless to say, I didn't get a photo of the heron as it flew away all because of a silly little visit from a dragonfly. Still, the morning wasn't completely devoid of a photograph. This offending dragonfly was gracious enough to hang around for a quick photo session. That's one of the things I love about being a photographer. You never know what is going to present itself on any given day. There is always something to catch my interest even when it's not what I'm looking for so I just need to remember to accept the blessing I'm given and enjoy the experience.