Dragonfly Delight

These are the days of the dragonfly. And indeed my day began with one. Dexter and I were sitting on the front porch watching the day begin, as is our custom. And suddenly, I noticed that the cat was staring at something above the front door.

I looked too, and there I spied a huge dragonfly sitting on the wall above the front door! We all three sat in companionable silence - bug, woman, and feline - enjoying the morning. When the cat and I got up to go back inside, the dragonfly was gone. I did not see it go or hear it go. It was just gone. Alas I have no photos of that huge, friendly bug, as I had a cat in my hands instead of my camera.

A bit later in the day, I saw quite a few more dragonflies at the Arboretum's lily pond. They were conducting aerial maneuvers, chasing one another around the lily pond. I positioned myself down low to snag some decent shots of the fancy bugs. And who showed up to join me once again but Scout, the friendly local kitty who may be the only individual I know of who visits these gardens even more often than I do.

I walked through the pollinator garden and into the strolling gardens, and what did I spy but a fresh orange butterfly. MONARCH! My first decent sighting of one this summer, in fact! And so I stalked it as it moved around the gardens until I was able to get some pictures. It was feasting atop some purple blooms, gently opening and closing its wings.

In recent years, I have noted a dwindling number of butterflies. To see even one now feels like an event well worth jumping up and down over. So hip hip hooray! And so I am including one of my monarch shots in the "extra photos" area, lower right.

I am delighted by these fancy bugs of high summer, and I celebrate them. They may seem ordinary to some, but they are miracles to me. And so the song to accompany today's posting is Sarah McLachlan, with Ordinary Miracle.

P.S. Dragonfly lovers may also enjoy this prior blip of a dragon on a lily.