Tuesday, July 31, 2012

NEWEST BFF

YEP, WHO'D A THUNK IT? To be honest, I would not believe it if it hadn't happened to me. As I said in my last post, I have bunches of dragonflies this year... maybe it is because it has been so hot and dry and my place is shady and has several birdbaths, I dunno. Maybe they like all the stuff planted here... whatever. Here they are, and I am loving it! Yesterday, I cut some grass and got the weedwhacker out. It is electric, maybe something in the humming of the motor? Who knows... whatever it is, this one little dragonfly followed me around the yard. I choose to think it is the same one that follows me when I am watering things - I thought it was that he (she?) was attracted to the movement of water, sound of it, the coolness close to the water coming from the hose. As you can see, I have spent considerable time wondering about this. But yesterday, I had the hoses set up in their respective garden areas, careful to not water the Punkin patch snoozing in the last remaining potato bag, while I was weedwhacking in a different part of the yard. I must have been 50 feet away from the hoses, well 100 feet from the hose on the beans, and 40 feet from the cats snoozing or scratching (the ticks have been BAD!) and there he was, buzzing around my head. When I sat down for a little break in one of the Adirondacks, the little fellow came and sat on the arm of the chair across from me. My camera, of course, was in the house. So, I came in and grabbed the camera, returned to the patio, and, of course, no dragonfly on the chair. So, I headed back to the barn and the weedwhacker, and crackle, crackle, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttttttttttt, there he was. He sat down on the edge of the wheelbarrow, and I reached into the barn for the camera. These close up shots are NOT telephoto or enlarged by a photo program. The camera was not much more than a foot away. I did not use any color enhancing program, tho I wonder if something might have helped bring out the beautiful soft blue on him, or the turquoise of his eyes. I really wondered if I could slip a finger under him and pick him up, but I did not want to frighten him away.
It is drizzling this morning, so I am not working outside. I wonder where he is hiding. The camera and I will be heading to the Train Station in a few minutes, hopefully to record the hanging of the second half of the Big door. I guess I won't be painting the inside sections to the HVAC fence, since I do that outside. So I guess I will just be a Step-n-Fetch it, or maybe just the photographer. I am glad it is cooler and grateful for the minimal rain. Every drop helps. But I will go looking for him when I get home... or maybe he will find me!

8 comments:

troutbirder said...

My birding mentor is also big on dragons flies. I don't know much about them but heard they are death on mosquitoes. That puts them on my team... :)

Ralph said...

Those are some pretty nice pictures. Looks like you have a new pet.
Ralph

Ralph said...

Those are some pretty nice pictures. Looks like you have a new pet.
Ralph

Ginnie said...

Best friends are worth their weight in gold so I'd hold on to that little guy (gal?)...nice to have one that doesn't argue with you !

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Nice to have these colorful critters around; they can help in lessening the population of unwanted "critters" like mosquito larvae. Colorful captures too with the dragonfly on the red handle.

troutbirder said...

They are hunters though. Here in Minnesota they are highly favored as hordes of mosquitoes are a favorite lunch....:)

Murr Brewster said...

If you're living on dragonfly time, you're going at just the right pace.

J C said...

I love what Murr Brewster said. We should all live on dragonfly time. You garden is lovely. They maybe follow you when you are watering because they like to lay their eggs in wet places I think. Do you have fairies in your sweet garden also? I bet they ride around on dragonfly wings. xoxo