Lazy afternoon, with busy dragonflies

In midafternoon, on a summer day, the birds and beasts lie low. Walking through the bush, we hear an occasional sleepy peep from deep in a shrub; maybe a squirrel chitters at us from far above. On the shore, even the gulls are napping.

We found benches with a hint of shade along the Maplewood Flats path, and sat to watch the birds off-shore.

Burrard Inlet and Maplewood tide flats.

Far across the water, a raft of Canada geese.

On a sandbar, a couple of families of cormorants. Caspian terns beside the gulls, and a pair of unidentifiable ducks.

Swallow nest boxes. "Keep Out!" the sign says. That means us, not the swallows.

We saw no bears. But a big doe crossed our path and bounded off into the water meadow.

We ended up sitting on a log on the beach. A pair of dragonflies teased us by circling right in front of our noses. We tried to time them and get a photo; they varied their speed and route, but made sure it always included buzzing us. They kept it up until we'd taken dozens of useless photos and put the cameras away.

Here's our best shot:

Nasty critters, they are.

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