There Be Dragons! September 29, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos.Tags: dragon fly, Post Office, sunflower
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Yesterday, on the way home from work, I stopped by the Post Office to check on the mail, and found a dragon.
Fly.
It was on the concrete stoop by the door, quivering ineffectually in the shadows of us Loomin’ Humans, not flying away as I nearly stepped on it. Strange, I thought.
I retrieved the contents of my PO box and returned to find it still there, and decided to intervene on its behalf. They are, after all, magical, and have graced my world with hours of mystery and amazement, and helping a Little Thing in trouble seemed the natural thing to do.
I coaxed him onto my finger (sorry, ladies, but that’s just the sense I got of it) and continued homeward as he made short, clumsy flights between my hands and my jeans.
At home I transferred him from my pinkie finger onto the fading bloom of one of Susan’s sunflowers, thinking it might make a more peaceful portal for a child of nature about to embark into The Mystery.
He was beautiful there, his iridescent green stripes playing against the bold yellows of his bed, and seemed to settle down a bit from his previous jittery state.
I broke out my camera to share him with you:
His eyes were huge, and I wondered what they were seeing:
I watched him on and off ’till bed time.
By morning he had crossed over.
Go in Peace, Little Guy.
Little Bang Theory 
Those photos are fascinating.
Hi CR,
I continue to love your photos and your written descriptions of what you and your camera caught.
Thanks,
Laurie B
At the very least, the little guy had a beautiful and peaceful spot to spend his last moments. Better than getting squashed in the post office.
I may have this completely wrong, but I think that the Dragon Fly is always male, and the female is the Damsel Fly.
I remember the big bronze ones that used to be around the lake where my family spent the summer in the Sierra Nevadas. I think they are well named.
Anyway, that said, you did good, TCR, they are noble beasts and deserve to have some dignity when they cross.
Regards,
Tengrain
Thanks, folks. I have always been amazed by dragon flies, even when as a very little kid I was afraid of them – my Grandmother called them “sewing needles” and said if I touched them they would sew my fingers together!
Ten, they’re related, but not the same; dragon flies are observably different in several ways, the most conspicuous of which is that they hold their wings more or less perpendicularly to their bodies when at rest, whereas damsel flies fold their wings in against their bodies.
The “dragon” and “damsel” monikers do evoke gender assignments though, don’t they? Kinda like “Daddy Long Legs” spiders, half of which must actually be “Mommy Long Legs…”
A few days before we left Portland our balcony doors were open to the forest allowing a huge (5-6″ wingspan) purplish-black dragonfly to come in and buzz our livingroom. I’ve never seen one so big and the fact it did a circuit of the room and flew back out again made it extra miraculous.
This is a wonderful set of photos.
Thanks, Susan. I would have loved to have seen that.
I often have the sense that dragon flies are Old Souls, and that they’re trying to communicate with me – they so frequently come face-to-face with me, hover a bit, then dart off – return – repeat (but only on their own terms, they’re otherwise unapproachable!)
That may sound goofy, but I’m just sayin’.
My dear departed MIL would float about on her spiffy floating chair (The Queen’s Barge) and converse with the damsel flies that would rest there with her. “Now, here’s what I think. If you agree with me, blink your left eye.”
I was witness to a great many of those conversations and the damsel flies were always considered to have agreed. I think they almost always agreed that I would cook dinner (but I was going to do that anyway). Mom was right and the damsel flies agreed and I did cook dinner. I wish I had more of those times and those days.
I’m heading away to the Southern hemisphere for awhile but will keep reading and viewing your photo journal of life here at home.
Thanks for the balance your photos and comments bring to my life.