What prey are you dreaming about
tonight, my adroit, winged friend?
What shifting air currents
are floating through your
fulfilled, slumbering mind?
[Note: I was in the woods taking nature pictures and stayed quite awhile. It started getting dark and as i was leaving i saw a White Tail Skimmer Dragonfly landing low in some wild plants on the forest floor, fortunately. I knew that that meant it was preparing for sleep (there). I waited a bit — for it to really dose off — and then i slowly moved in to photograph it. Poison ivy was all around me! Please note how they wrap their legs around plants while in sleep; this stance affords stability for possible upcoming windy conditions.]
Sleeping White Tail Skimmer Dragonfly … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Great post 🙂
Thank you much! 🙂
Amazing!
Many thanks! We have to shoot them while we can, before the massive extinction… ours!
Very interesting, Tom. This is a great shot!
I appreciate that, Sandy! (Lots of joy/discovery in photographing, right?!} 🙂
Indeed!
Very nice Tom!
Thanks, Belinda! It’s a privilege to photograph a group that was around way before the time of the dinosaurs. 🙂
Growing up in the south we used to always see dragonflies everywhere. I do love watching the Common Whitetails in our area flirting around. Makes you wonder what truly goes through their thoughts in times like these. Cool shot Tom! 😉
Yes, Kym! I won’t be contemplating dragonfly thoughts too much, though, as it might start a craving to eat mosquitoes. 🙂
LMBO…you are toooooo funny!!!! I don’t know, maybe mosquitos might be a good source of protein!!!! LOL 😀 😀 😀
I’m a vegetarian. 🙂
They are so amazing up close and now I will see their positions more astutely and get an idea what they are up to.
Up-close is sure a different perspective with such creatures than our normal far-away views. 🙂
A total WOW!
Thank you a lot, Lindy! 🙂
Nice to learn about their nocturnal habits. I didn’t think to take a picture of the huge dragonfly I rescued from our mist nets this morning. It was pretty cool to hold it while I got the net untangled from its head – not totally unlike extracting a bird!
Very different up-close, isn’t it? They approached 3 feet long in wingspan during the Carboniferous Period. 🙂
Amazing picture!😊
Many thanks, John! 🙂
Awesome
Much appreciated, Jeremy! 🙂
I love dragonflies – they seem to be deep in thought.
They were here way before the dinosaurs, Paul, and will be here long after we humans. 🙂
Yes, I think sometimes they laugh at us.
Great post! Dragonflies are amazing!
Yes, they are, Sabine! Super amazing! 🙂
That’s amazingly up close Tom – hopefully you didn’t come in contact with any of that poison ivy – yikes! My neighbor has some growing on their tree in the front yard, all around the base of the tree. You were in the right place at the right time.
No poison ivy on me yet this year, Linda! But the year is not over! Took Marla to the hospital today for Botox injections in her neck (for dystonia) and took pictures along the river (on the Hospital property). A cluster of poison ivy had grown up a tree and then grew down among the tree’s leaves. I almost walked into them… but didn’t. Yikes! 🙂
I had actually never seen poison ivy until my neighbor pointed it out and said not to go near it. It is a Maple tree planted by the City two years ago so not very big – they had a dozen to give away and my neighbor snagged one. Before there were a pair of flowering pear trees that split in half during the same windstorm that took my shed off its moorings and made it tumble across the yard (just 39 mph). Those Nike Air Max keep you far enough off the ground and away from the poison ivy hopefully!
Amazing capture, Tom!!
Thank you, Donna! (Like the Ospreys, it’s another winged predator!) 🙂
Ah — here’s the little beauty you mentioned in your comment on my dragonfly post. It is a gem, for sure. Their behaviors are so interesting, and the details you manage to capture really bring home how complex they are. People often comment on dragonfly eyes, but everything about them is amazing. Wonderful photo!
That is pretty “up close.” I wasn’t expecting it. LOL! Great shot!