Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

~Dr. Howard Thurman

It happened again. Ten months go by, another 100 blog posts. So, as I have done in the past, I mark this passage of time with a brief review of some of the highlights from the last one hundred blogs. I suppose it is an excuse for me to look back and remind myself of how lucky I am, how much is out there to observe and enjoy, if I only make the time to get outside.

The third one hundred started with a trip to the Low Country of South Carolina.

Botany Bay turned out to be as beautiful as images I have seen…I need to go back when low tide is at sunrise.

As always, Pocosin Lakes and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuges provided many highlights of my last one hundred posts.

This is especially true during the winter months, when the area’s lakes and farm fields fill with wintering waterfowl…

…and other wildlife.

Spring brought lots of amphibians, wildflowers, and beautiful colors…

…along with a couple of canoe camping trips along the Roanoke River.

And I spent a lot of time wandering the yard, discovering what my wild neighbors are up to.

I was happy to help provide some footage of nesting birds and what they feed their young for Hometown Habitat, an upcoming educational video on the importance of native plants.

And I was lucky enough to spend another wonderful couple of weeks in my favorite place, Yellowstone, leading a trip and observing some of the magnificent wildlife of the region.

I spent a lot of time with bears these past few months, watching them, and being watched. A very good year for bears, I must say.

As the summer ends and BugFest approaches (September 19 at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh), my thoughts, and camera, seem to turn to caterpillars and all things Lepidopteran.

As always, I discovered some fascinating things as I wandered, and this has been a very productive few months for those “ah-ha” moments…Copperheads following cicada nymphs up into trees when they are emerging in order to dine on them; cool spider eyes; weird insects in the yard and at the moth light; and the return of the jellies to my swimming hole…wonder what the next one hundred will reveal? I can’t wait…