nightdog_barks (
nightdog_barks) wrote2010-06-11 02:35 pm
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
And Now for Something Completely Different
Chango brought me a tennis ball, and when I went out on the deck I saw this handsome fellow.
He was sitting on the top of a plant hanger ...

... and he pretty much ignored me as I tried to get as close as possible.

And closer ...

View from the back, sunlight on his wings.

And one last view, a better shot of the tracery on the wings.

So. It was about 3 - 4 inches long, and it would turn its head occasionally to watch me. I put my hand out to see if it would land there, but all that happened was Chango coming over to see if I had a treat for her. LOL.
He was sitting on the top of a plant hanger ...

... and he pretty much ignored me as I tried to get as close as possible.

And closer ...

View from the back, sunlight on his wings.

And one last view, a better shot of the tracery on the wings.

So. It was about 3 - 4 inches long, and it would turn its head occasionally to watch me. I put my hand out to see if it would land there, but all that happened was Chango coming over to see if I had a treat for her. LOL.
no subject
AND YOUR PICTURES ARE FUCKING AWESOME
no subject
I was glad to see it -- I learned just the other day that they eat mosquitoes, which is A GOOD THING.
no subject
This is why I adore you, Nightdog.
Second thought:
*bafflement*
You ... grew up in the South and didn't know that
mosquito-hawksdragonflies eat mosquitoes?no subject
Never heard 'em called mosquito hawks when I was growing up. Or snake doctors, or anything other than dragonflies.
no subject
I guess I'm just surprised that someone who loves both nature and reading as much as you do, missed that particular bit of information.
If you see a few of those big dragonflies in the yard -- they gather when the lawn gets mowed, sometimes, because the mower makes the bugs fly out of the grass and the dragonflies catch them -- you can stand out there
like an idiotand raise one finger in the air above your head, and sometimes they'll perch on it. It's really nifty, as long as you don't care what the neighbors think. Heh.no subject
LOL! DUDE, I CAN'T KNOW EVERYTHING. Hee!
no subject
no subject
Thanks! Dragonflies are so cool -- we get big ones during the height of summer that are chalk-white with black bars on their wings. In the spring sometimes I see little ones that are a gorgeous iridescent blue or red.
no subject
no subject
When you were growing up, did you ever hear people call dragonflies "snake doctors"? We heard that a lot.
no subject
I never heard anyone call them snake doctors until I was grown -- a guy that I used to work with who was very "country" would call them that sometimes, but I never heard it as a kid.
no subject
Does Chango just ignore dragonflies? Unfortunately our cats have the bad habit of hunting and eating them...
no subject
I have no idea what the real name of any dragonfly is -- apparently there are about a zillion different kinds, of all sizes and colors.
Chango, I have to say, is sometimes pretty clueless unless something is actually moving right under her nose. I've seen her watch butterflies fluttering around the yard, but she's not very interested in trying to catch them.
no subject
no subject
That blue damselfly is gorgeous!
no subject
I may snag these for drawing references...is that okay?
no subject
I may snag these for drawing references...is that okay?
No problem! :-D
no subject
Thanks!! =D
no subject
(P.S. Did you see my hawks (http://bethctg2.livejournal.com/249591.html)? *g*)
no subject
no subject
Bah! ;D
I'm just glad you saw them! xx
no subject
In wildlife class our instructor, an entymologist, told us that dragonfly larvae breathe through their butts (his word). They swim by taking a breathe and blowing it out their butts, propelling themselves through the water. One of my classmates was a smartass and asked "do we have to know that for the test?" and he enthusiastically said "you have to know that just for LIFE!".
no subject