The Distraction

  It has been hot around here lately.  The temperature gets in the triple digits during the daytime hours and only drops to low 90s or high 80s overnight.  This is fine by me but I have to admit that it would be nice if we got a rain now and again.  It is dry...hot and dry.  That is not my kind of weather.  Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I love a good storm occasionally.  That is the type weather that clears the mind.

  With the heat, my day's outdoor chores are kept limited to "what needs to be done".  Puttering around in the garden sure beats cutting grass or painting the Little Bayou House.  This garden thing also gives me a chance to find critters!  It seems that they are being about as lazy as I am so critter photography just got real easy!  This afternoon, a lovely blue dragonfly whiled away the hours on one of the leaves of the red cordyline plant.  This potted plant sits on a bench with a few other plants and must be a happy place for insects.  Bumblebees, honeybees, grasshoppers and, of course,our dragonfly all took refuge in the leaves.  The dragonfly stuck mainly on the cordyline but would make a "hop" if I got too near. 

  This dragonfly is called a Great Blue Skimmer and this one is a male.  How do I know that?  Well, the female has a good bit of brown on her and may even be completely devoid of any blue hue.   Another big clue that this is a male is the aforementioned "resting".   The males are not particularly industrious critters.  Finding them like I did this one is nothing from the norm.  The little brown female, however, is probably off "flicking" her eggs.  She picks up a droplet of water and then goes about flicking eggs on the dirt near water.  The eggs hatch then the nymph crawls to the water where it will reside for up to two years before changing to an adult.  Weather conditions can dictate when a nymph decides to make the transformation from aquatic insect to airborne insect.

  So goes the tale of a Great Blue Dragonfly who helped me be distracted from an otherwise uncomfortable day.  I am grateful for small blessings.