An afternoon at the pond...

This beautiful, warm, muggy spring afternoon is rich with shy sunshine-loving creatures in every nook at Adkins Arboretum.

Painted turtle with her eyes closed paddles through the murky water causing bullfrogs to leap from their basking spots.

Camouflaged to the nines bullfrogs break up the calm surface of the water with their shiny bright green heads.

Red-winged blackbirds acrobatically catch dragonflies in flight and gorge themselves, one after another. I wonder how long the dragonfly population can last at this rate.

A juvenile red-winged blackbird prances through the wetland grasses, not sure whether it's safe to show himself to the crazy photographer lady.

A robin perches on a cattail with a mouthful of meal worms.