Here in the mid-Atlantic, the heat wave has spawned severe thunderstorms two nights in a row. Last night, the lightning was so spectacular that I couldn’t resist trying to catch a few frames.
(This last one convinced me that I had taken more than enough pictures…)
The lotus garden near Sandbridge Beach is beginning to bloom. Today I stopped for a few minutes, trying to ignore the ridiculous heat and harsh midday glare.
I believe these are Japanese Beetles. Every year I see a handful of them, but only a handful. They hang around for a month or two, mating in the roses and stripping a few leaves off the crepe myrtle. Then they disappear.
Fortunately, they have not become a major problem in our yard. The worst part of having them around, for me, is the worry. I watch and wait, dreading the possibilities. Wondering if this will be the summer that our modest population of beetles spawns a hungry swarm…
I wonder if the hoverfly thinks about beauty. Are daisies lovely, through its eyes, or simply another field of nectar? If your life’s work is harvesting nectar, does sweetness turn dusty and tired, soured by toil and necessity?
The forecast says cooler weather is on the way, along with rain. I’m ready for a respite from the heat, but I’m not sure the dragonflies agree.
The first one is a Black Saddlebags dragonfly. The second is a Blue Dasher.
Rae Spencer 