The Little Creatures.

Sometimes when I go hiking I don't find the wildlife that I hope to see and photograph. I've noticed that even the birds I used to depend upon as subjects are fewer in number. These are things that I have noted, so it's not a huge surprise to me to have recently learned that the base populations of birds have died off in North America over the last thirty years, to the tune of three billion less. I used to be able to go to various places to see birds that have vanished; and this has been over just the last ten years.

Mother Nature is dying. There is no doubt of that.

At any rate, I love photographing wildlife. And so what I find I sometimes have to do is look down at my feet or at the vegetation around me to search for insects, arachnids, terrestrial molluscs, and other such little critters if I want to get any photographs of animals at all.

And, once again, I am reminded that I really do need a couple of new lenses for my camera. I can do okay with the lenses I have, but they don't have the qualities I need to record the finer details as I labor to grab some memorable shots. To that end I will be purchasing (I hope) two more lenses next month. We'll see.

In the meantime, I've been reading journals warning that even the planet's insect populations are plummeting.

Yellowjacket, taken on Roan Mountain, Tennessee.

Butterly, Rock Creek Recreation Area. Erwin, TN.

Butterfly. Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina.