Nature is a part of our humanity, and without some awareness and experience of that divine mystery man ceases to be man.
Henry Beston
A search of Doctor Google showed this to be Widow Skimmer Dragonfly. Unlike other species of dragonflies where males guard egg-laying females, Widow Skimmer males leave the female by herself, ‘widowing’ her as she lays her eggs just under the surface of the water. I stood in the sun and waited for them to land, hoping to get some images. This is a female as the males have a silver-grey body. What a mystery it all is! If you’re so inclined, reading this link will add to the mystery. Hope you enjoy your Saturday!
While each place has its own beauty, no particular place can claim to settle the wanderer’s soul.
John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes
If you ever want to observe a wandering soul look no farther than the world of insects. Most wander in pursuit of food, to mate and to avoid predators. I have found the only way to photograph dragonflies and damselflies is to set up my camera and tripod then wait. With enough patience those wandering souls will pass through your viewfinder. Hoping you are enjoying your Saturday.
It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a world at your fingertips outside you. It is an immense privilege, and it is incredible that humans manage to forget the miracle of being here. Rilke said, ‘Being here is so much,’ and it is uncanny how social reality can deaden and numb us so that the mystical wonder of our lives goes totally unnoticed. We are here. We are wildly and dangerously free.
“We will recover our sense of wonder and our sense of the sacred only if we appreciate the universe beyond ourselves as a revelatory experience of that numinous presence whence all things come into being. Indeed, the universe is the primary sacred reality. We become sacred by our participation in this more sublime dimension of the world about us.”
Thomas Berry
Dragonflies hang around my ponds this time of the year. I really don’t know them that well but planning to change that. I do not have many images because they are such an elusive creature who needs patience to photograph. As I watched them over the weekend, I decided to set up my tripod and wait. I quickly began to sweat while standing in the 96 degree sun but I was determined. They skim and dart across the water with vigor at 22–34 mph.
The twelve-spotted skimmer, which I think this is, has twelve dark brown wing spots, three on each wing. Males have eight additional spots that are white. Dragonflies are predatory insects. The hunting behavior of adult dragonflies is called “hawking.” Their legs are held in a basket shape during flight, which is perfect for grasping mosquitoes and other small flying insects. Many Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers. For example, the southwestern tribes, including the Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni, associated dragonflies with transformation. So today I watched and learned a lot about dragonflies. From now on I will look at them with different eyes, more respect and appreciation. I fell in love with this sacred creature, who I now know is my mosquito eating neighbor.
It rained yesterday afternoon and through most of the night, with a soft gentle rain here. However there was major rain in the mountains in the burn areas from last years forest fires. Major flooding took place and a flood warning out for today. Interesting that 45 years ago today we had the Big Thompson Flood that took 144 lives. A 20 foot wall of water came down that canyon almost completely taking out Highway 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. I remember how it sounded like a war zone with helicopters constantly flying overhead. I know those who lost loved ones in that flood and have a sister who survived those waters.
Data for those who want to know: Fujifilm X-T3 and XF 16-80mm f4.0
“We had no churches, no religious organizations, no Sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we worshiped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble and sing and pray; sometimes a smaller number, perhaps only two or three.”
Geronimo
Took this on my walk at Pineridge Natural Area this past weekend. Like how the plant, and I do not know what it is, was backlit just for me. If you look closely you’ll notice a dragonfly caught in mid-flight to the left of center and a few other insects which are all backlit. Gonna be another hot day with temperatures in the mid 90’s. Stay cool!
