Sometimes, the beauty is in the details.

This morning was just as gorgeous as yesterday morning, but with less traffic noise. Yay!

I beat the sun to the pond, and when I arrived, I was greeted by a green heron in the top of one of the fruit trees over the west shore.

On my way to the river, this American rubyspot damselfly sporting a few dew drops really caught my eye.

Right beside the rubyspot was this broad-handed leafcutter bee (Megachile latimanus), as far as I know, on a common vetch blossom, also covered in dew, and probably too cold to move.

Near the same spot where we saw the female belted kingfisher with an incomplete rusty-red band yesterday, there was another female with a more-complete red band today, plus a male with no red band at all, and a third one that I wasn’t able to identify further. The trio was flitting around together a bit, so I doubt the third wheel was a territory encroacher, but perhaps the group comprised a recent fledgling or two with a parent or two, as the case may be, and hurray for fledglings!

Just a bit farther south along the river, at a popular fishing spot, I startled some wood ducks who had probably snuck up on shore to forage. Here’s one wood duck hen with three ducklings.

And here’s another wood duck hen with nine (9!) ducklings looking quite grown up. Yee haw! That’s what I love to see.

Finally, at the pond, here’s a wood duck hen with three of her four ducklings who are starting to show their blue speculum feathers.

Meanwhile, below the surface, the pond appeared to be full of bluegills, and here’s one of dozens.

Now, for the moment some of you may have been waiting for. I know I sure was. Here’s a snowberry clearwing hovering and sipping nectar from a bee balm blossom in the pollinator garden. What a sight, right?

Here’s a side view so you can see at least four of its six legs just dangling in the breeze.

The thistles beside the soccer fields are still in bloom, and here’s one feeding a stripe-winged drone fly (Eristalis horticola)

Lastly, here’s a clouded sulpher butterfly sipping nectar from the same.

PS. Here’s a close-up, in case you’re not the zooming type. I wouldn’t want you to miss all the details.