Skippy the Super Sipper

I was in the lake enjoying my very first swim of the year, and I could hear the young man squealing as his feet hit the chilly water. "TADPOLES!" he shouted, looking anxiously at the water as though it were swirling with sharks; "What if one of them TOUCHES MY SKIN while I'm in the water?" He shuddered, and stepped back out. I could tell he wasn't from around here.

It was the day of our first swim at Whipple Dam, and the water was cool and clear and clean, full of reflections of green trees. The water as it touched my skin was smooth as silk. I swam around simply enjoying the sights. I have often wished for sunglasses with a waterproof camera in them for such occasions. Maybe someone has invented such a thing?

But my camera was on the other side of the lake. And so I didn't have it for the reflections I was seeing. I didn't have it either, for the tiger swallowtail butterflies we found puddling in the muddy sand along the beach. So there isn't a photo of the butterflies for this day - though I did simply sit and enjoy their company, as they were huge and delightful and magnificent - but I did capture pics of some other winged things instead.

For Whipple Dam is just full of fancy bugs; damselflies and dragonflies galore grace its quiet waters. And once we had gone back to the car and changed after our swim, I had my camera in my hands once again, and I was stalking the fancy bugs along the shore.

My first encounter was with the gorgeous skipper that you see in this shot. It was feasting on some wild flowers along the lake, and I snapped about a dozen shots. I was surprised at how well they came out, actually; this may be one of my best skipper shots ever. The skipper (let's call it Skippy) is actually a Peck's skipper, a friend informs me. It has a marvelous proboscis type snoot, and is using it for super sipping on daisy fleabane on a fine early summer's day.

I also encountered quite a few tiny damselflies, and they were very busy. By mid-afternoon, the grasses along the edge were just full of them. I snagged a pretty cool shot of a pair of damselflies mating - and their reflection below them, turning the shot into a double double. I am not sure I have seen such a thing before, so that photo is in the "extra photos" area, lower right.

As I crawled along the edge of the lake with my camera, I heard a little splash, and came nose to nose with a pretty little water snake who was absolutely as startled as I was - maybe even more so. "GIRLS WITH CAMERAS!!!" I imagined the snake shrieking as it tried to get away from me as quickly as possible; "WHAT IF IT TOUCHES MY SKIN!!!????" But I did not try to touch it; I merely took its picture.

I almost forgot to tell you about the wild song of the lake. As we were swimming, and as I was walking around the lake, I could hear a huge bullfrog calling. It sounded as though someone were plucking a banjo string. Such a sound seems it just CANNOT be real . . . but it is.

And after we had had our fill of hanging out at the lake, we got in the car and headed for a restaurant that we've been talking about trying, that is just a few miles beyond Whipple Dam. It is called Couch's (officially of McAlevy's Fort, PA), and you can enjoy reading their menu here.

For myself, starving girl that I was after all that swimming, I ordered a hot roast beef sandwich with gravy, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, corn, and a roll for a mere $8.00 (see "extra photos" area for a picture). And it was wonderful. I took half of the sandwich along home for later, and about half of the cole slaw too. The half-sandwich and remaining cole slaw made a marvelous evening snack, and I ate it all up. It was delicious, and it went down easy, just like every single bite of this day . . .

The song to accompany this image of a super sipper just has to be a drinking song. So here are the Doors, with Alabama Song (Whisky Bar).