We finally made it back to the fen, and it was worth it!  We enjoyed a rare sighting of many turtles (Spotted or Painted) in the water, and also a large water snake (Queen?).  That was like a reptile jackpot, at the fen.  It made our day.  I wasn’t able to photo the turtles, but if you squint, you’ll see the snake.

We also observed ducks, lots of songbirds, many honeybees and interesting insects swarming over the late summer wildflowers, and monarchs.  The water was way down, and we did not see our beaver friends.  The flowers and plants were spectacular.

I’m posting this in two parts.