An Intentional Walk, Unintended Consequences

I went back to the Lake Dimmick area, hoping to find another Vesper Bluet. I started at the big pond, where I saw only Blue Corporals and a number of Azure Bluets. So windy and cold were the pond and shore that I lost my hat several times and finally gave up. 

I walked down to the boat launch pull-off at the lake, where "snot grass" grows. Several Facebook friends noted that the only Vesper Bluets they had seen were bodies of water with lily pads. I found what I was looking for -- one female Vesper Bluet.

And something else: a feather pile dotted with water drops, atop of which a spider dragged her egg ball.

Then, a few feet away, I noticed the bird's carcass in the water, its bill still parted its feet spread and caught in the reeds.

I don't know the species; I'll leave that to someone else. I don't know what happened; no one can. What I do know is that I left my walk feeling oddly dislocated and tired.

I found what I hoped for, and I left feeling sad.