Wild Ponies 1Wild ponies and an egret at the Chinctoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia.

Recently, my family and I made a trip to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island in Virginia. The wildlife refuge is known for the wild ponies that live on the island and is made famous by the beloved novel Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. I enjoyed reading the book to my kids and it was fun for all of us to see the ponies in real life. I was also happy to get some great photos of the ponies, including a foal.

Wild Ponies 2Wild ponies, including a mare and her foal, in the Chinctoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia.

Wild Ponies 3Wild ponies, including a mare and her foal, in the Chinctoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia.

The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is also home to a lot of birds. I've never seen so many egrets all at once!

Flock of EgretsA flock of egrets takes flight in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia. A Pair of EgretsTwo egrets enjoy some late afternoon sunshine on Assateague Island in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia.

The wildlife isn't the only draw to Assateague. The scenery is beautiful. The following is a series from a sunrise that I shot.

Blue Hour in ChincoteagueHigh tide and storm surge covers grassland at dawn on Chincoteague Island. Assateague Island is visible off in the distance. Golden Hour in ChincoteagueHigh tide and storm surge covers grassland at dawn on Chincoteague Island. Assateague Island is visible off in the distance. Golden Hour in ChincoteagueHigh tide and storm surge covers grassland at sunrise on Chincoteague Island. Assateague Island is visible off in the distance.

I took the sunrise shots from a stretch of grassland between Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island. This area normally wouldn't be so full of water, but at the time there was a storm further out to sea, so we were experiencing both high tide and storm surge at the same time. Here's a photo of the road between the two islands—it's completely under water.

High Tide and Storm Surge at Chincoteague Wildlife RefugeStorm surge and high tide washing over the road between Chincoteague and Assateague Island. The Assateague Lighthouse is visible in the distance. Besides the water flowing over the road, you can see the Assateague Lighthouse off in the distance. It's a beautiful old structure that's still in use by the Coast Guard. Here are a couple more photos of the lighthouse:

Assateague Lighthouse and ForestThe Assateague Lighthouse and forest at dawn, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Assateague Island, Virginia.

Assateague LighthouseAssateague Lighthouse

In case you were confused earlier when I mentioned Chincoteague Island: Chincoteague Island is located next to Assateague Island. The town of Chincoteague is located on Chincoteague Island and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the ponies are located on Assateague Island. I don't know why the wildlife refuge, which is located on Assateague is named after Chincoteague.

Anyway, since it's almost Halloween, here's a photo that I took while I was on Chincoteague of the October full moon (also known as a "Hunter's Moon" or "Blood Moon"). I think the cloud cover makes it look a bit creepy and thematically appropriate. Happy Halloween!

Hunter's MoonClouds cover full moon in October. According to Moongiant.com, October’s full moon is commonly called the Hunter’s Moon, harkening back to European and Native American traditions where hunters would use the light of the full moon to track down their prey and stock up for the coming winter. Contrary to popular belief, the Hunter’s Moon isn’t actually bigger or brighter than usual. It simply rises earlier, soon after sunset, which would give hunters plenty of bright moonlight to hunt by during the early evenings. To Neo Pagans, however, the Hunter’s Moon is known by a far more morbid name - the Blood Moon.

Lake flowersSunset over Lake Wesauking and summer flowers.

Summer officially ended with the autumnal equinox on September 22, but the heat continued to linger here in Washington. Just two days ago the high was 97℉!. When I got up this morning, it was 50℉. It's looking like autumn may be here for real. Farewell summer!

Frog eyesA frog peers out of a marsh.

Recently, I went hiking with my family at Huntley Meadows. It's a great place to see wildlife near Washington, D.C. However, since we were going in the late morning, I wasn't expecting to see much in the way of wildlife. Most of the animals are active early in the morning or late evening, especially when it's hot out, as it has been lately. So, I left my big telephoto lens at home and brought a small telephoto, just in case.

Sure enough, the clouds came out, the temperature dropped, and the animals came out in play. I was glad to have that smaller telephoto. It would have been nice to bring the bigger lens, but I think some of these turned out great. The first photo (above) is my favorite. The frogs seemed especially plentiful.

Frog in the mudA frog sits in a muddy marsh.

The birds were out as well. The first one below (off in the distance) is an egret. The next one is a green heron and the last is a great blue heron.

Huntley MeadowsAn egret in the distance in Huntley Meadows, Virginia.

Green heronA green heron stalks around the marsh.

Great Blue Heron Standing TallA great blue heron standing tall.