Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A Dragonfly Dillydallied


A dancing dragonfly dares to dillydally.
(Click picture to enlarge)
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" Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly
Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.
~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Silent Noon
Carmi is asking for our favorite pictures of the year. I posted several pictures of the different butterflies we had visit and grow in our garden areas and I love them all, but I never got around to posting any of the dragonflies. Dragonflies are always abundant here, of all sizes and colorations. In the hot summer evenings, just before nightfall, they begin their dance high in the air. We sit on the patio and gaze into the reds and purples of the sky and watch... the numbers grow and soon there may be as many as ten to fifteen, flitting and turning and then diving down to within a foot or two of the ground, or our resting places... then they streak straight up to rejoin the airborne ballet. After a time, they finish and wing their way to wherever dragonflies keep safe in the night.

During the heat of the day, they poise on the flowers or seek shade on the mulch under a bush. If you are quiet and move slowly, you can get close enough to see the colorful green sheen on the eyes and the powdery blue of the body as if the insect had been dusted with corn starch. This one took advantage of our purple butterfly bush and used the backdrop of the terra cotta deck skirting to show off its delicate wings and pose for glamour shots before getting bored with the process and flitting away. It would have to be considered one of my favorites!

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Favorite Pictures of the Year

7 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

This shot is unbelievable! The details on the wings and body, and those colors, almost like a watercolor!! Hope you saw my last comment, I didn't miss your post, just was very busy today and didn't get around to comments till bedtime.

sandra said...

one of my fondest memories comes from 3 years ago, my friend and i took our cameras to a local park. we walked to the back where there were old rocks and caves and a mound about 20 feet high. there were literally hundreds, maybe a thousand of dragon flies, several different sizes and colors, flocks of them, we could not aim and miss one. never seen anything like it before or since. 2 years later we went back to the same park and there was a bulldozer flatteing the mound and the rocks and i yelled at the man driving when he stopped, yelled so he could hear me, not mad yelled, and asked why he was doing it. Mam, he says I do what the county tells me and don't ask why. they destoryed the habitat of rabbits and coons and butterflies and dragon flies and left it as a flat grassy place with nothing.

Abby Normal & Ms. C said...

Beautiful. Hope you are having a wonderful season!

Yours,
Ms. C & Abby
http://www.tabbynormal.com/

kenju said...

WOW - that's some photo!! I love seeing dragonflies. Merry Christmas, SRP!

OldOldLady Of The Hills said...

That is a GORGEOUS Picture my dear SRP! Just Stunning, in every way! I can see why you picked this.

Wishing you a most Merry Christmas, my dear, and a Very Happy New Year, Too!

Col said...

I too love dragonflies.   This photo is simply breathtaking.  Very lovely!

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