Oh, no no no no no, that ain’t happening. I noticed July trying to slip out the door while I was coping with a missing day, and made it come back in, sit down, and-… um… accept a month-end abstract post. I think the metaphor is falling apart here.
But fear not! It makes no difference to the net effect, which is a photo post based on a random coincidence a few years back that I am now continuing out of sheer noreasonness. So for the end of July, we have a blue dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis, heh heh, you said pennis) placed charmingly, or something anyway, against the evening sky reflected in the pond water. You’re going to ask me what kind of tree it is, aren’t you? Well, I’m not telling.
I said “missing day,” above, because I had plenty of time to get things done and accomplished damn near nothing, mostly due to exhaustion that I suspect is some kind of bug but might simply be the weather and sinuses conspiring against me. I spend way too much time with my head stuffed full and really need to move someplace with fewer allergens, or get a sinus transplant or some shit, but for now, you get to hear me bitch about it. You don’t have to, though, because if you make a small contribution to my decongestant fund through that thing over on the sidebar, I’ll stick to other topics. I’m not totally cruel.
And just to show you what kind of sport I am, and to make up for the lateness of this post (though still on July 31st, which is better than a couple of months back there in history,) I proffer another; if you’re clever, you might discover the common element that links the two.
I’m pretty certain this is the same dragonfly, since they frequently take brief flights away from their resting spot before returning to the same location or one very close by. I know, I know, I should be able to distinguish individuals by now – I am ashamed, and if you’re read much of this blog (especially, you know, this post,) you’ll know that’s a rare state indeed. Relish it while you can.
By the way, I had originally intended to use the extreme compound eye closeup from this post as the month-end abstract, then totally forgot and posted it along with the others. I’m hopeless, I know.