Well, this is it: my first dragonfly photo of the year.  I’ve seen loads of dragonflies, but I am often busy teaching when I am at the pond and never seem to have a chance to get photos.  I got this shot one day when the system locked me out of my computer at work and I needed to kill some time while I waited for it to be unlocked.  Took it with the entirely wrong kind of camera too, but it turned out alright.  I give you the common whitetail:

Common whitetail, Plathemis lydia

This is, as the name suggests, a truly common species in the US.  We have dozens of males flying around the pond each day while many females stalk prey on the prairie.  But, they are spectacular!  They might be common as dirt, but how can anyone tire of seeing something that beautiful?

Speaking of dragonflies, I got some fun photos over the weekend that I’m eager to share.  Look for them soon!

_______________