Rae Spencer

Two days ago, the first dragonflies arrived in the yard. I had seen a few cruising through, in previous weeks, but none stopping to stay. This one was a female Blue Dasher, hunting in the pear tree. As I tried to get her picture, I got distracted by another Blue Dasher a few branches over. Beside it, yet another, this one male. I circled the tree, trying to count, but soon gave up counting and concentrated on pictures.

Early this afternoon, they moved into the wax myrtle, which gets the most direct midday sunshine. I suspect they will migrate back to the pear tree by sunset.

So far, the overwhelming majority are Blue Dashers, but Halloween Pennants and Golden Skimmers should show up before too long. Maybe even a few new species. This will be our twelfth summer here, and I had never seen damselflies in the yard before this spring. Now they make regular stops in the irises.

I love how the yard changes from season to season and year to year. It’s an ordinary yard on an ordinary street in an ordinary city, proving over and over again the extraordinary nature of “ordinary”.