A day of discoveries

Today was a wonderful day to be outside. The air was dry, after yesterday's storminess, and the sunshine, bright. A good cleaning day. But, after a morning of diddling around inside, out I went.
What was going to be just a glance in the direction of the pond , turned me around, and headed me back inside--I needed the binoculars. There was something at the far end, at the water's edge.
A log?
Something washed up onto the shore in the storm?
It seemed to be very low to the ground--and I hoped it wasn't the little fawn, mired in the deep mud.
No hurry, just needed a better look.

The better look, this time with binoculars, startled me.
What I'd thought was an inanimate object, I discovered, was something looking back at me.
A coyote--just waking from an afternoon nap and smart enough to realize that the watery distance between us was his protection.Wishing I'd thought to grab the camera earlier, back to the house I went, again--this time, moving a little faster.
(We hear coyotes quite a bit--see them very seldom--NEVER get a picture) He stayed for about 15 minutes, playing at the edge and rolling around in the short grass as I watched, before heading off through the fields.

Later this evening, I returned to look for him, wondering if his ease and playfulness at that spot meant he visited frequently.
He was nowhere to be seen.

Continuing around the pond walk a bit further, though, another discovery.
Swarming ants! I found them hanging in the air all around me before I spotted where they'd risen from--a patch of grass just beside me.
I couldn't help myself--the sun was setting, little amber ants marching up slender, green launchpads.....aren't they interesting? (click photos to enlarge)

They covered the long strands of grass, each climbing to the very top--then lifting off into the air.





Note to self: it seems best to observe flying ants from the up-wind direction.