While taking photos at a turtle pond I witnessed one of life's many lessons.

I had been watching the male pigeons doing their break dance routine to impress the girls, & I watched while the turtles basked in the sun. All was well with my world, slightly breaking a sweat in my Aloha shirt. I'm loving life here relaxing & enjoying the opportunity to photograph this peaceful setting.

Suddenly I catch a glimpse of a streaking object. It zooms by my head & lands right next to me on a leaf. I'm ready & zoom in for a close-up. Snap the shot. I've got you I think to myself. Hey you're pretty cute. Nice blue you've got there, you're a much prettier dragonfly than that shrimpy little red dragonfly over there. We had a nice chat & then I guess she had to go because she just up & flew off without notice. I looked up to say goodbye & SNAP! A beak clamps down & a huge grackle flew past my head then landed in the tree right above. She swallowed & cleaned off her blue beak rubbing it off on the branch she was sitting on.

Once I shut my mouth from that sudden display of natures food chain, I just laughed & thought, I missed the darn shot.

The moral of the story:

"Being pretty will only get you so far in life prepare a backup plan." - Genoa

Discovering fun locations for your photo shoot is as easy as searching your local community for small ponds. They provide a wonderful habitat for a variety of wildlife & flora. I have even seen a green heron fishing at this pond on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. - Genoa