My to-do list today called for a grocery store run, but my soul was calling for a beauty break, so I opted for a compromise. I grabbed the grocery list AND my camera and stopped by Manning Mill Park on my way to the store.

There were plenty of dragonflies hovering around the edge of the lake…

…as well as an abundance of geese – some of which were floating…

…some of which were flying…

…and some of which were finishing up with a splash landing!

My favorite encounter of the outing was with a beautiful Green Heron, who flew across the lake and landed in a tangle of limbs by the shoreline. I probably would have left the photo below out of the post because of the clutter, but I liked the way his claws looked so I included it.

This fellow quickly tucked himself into a slightly more secluded spot and stared out at the water, likely looking for an easy meal.

Then, he proceeded to give himself a bit of a groom…

…glancing back at me every so often, clearly conveying that my persistent picture taking was in direct violation of preening privacy protocol!

He really is a gorgeous guy!

I think I’m gonna need to make visits to this park a regular occurrence.