a shimmering performance

I looked across our valley and tried to figure out what I was seeing. I was stunned! There were hundreds and hundreds of fast flying creatures zooming around the fields and pastures, shimmering in the early evening sunlight. The flying phenomenon stopped me in my tracks. Were they lightening bugs? I took a short video, and then walked down to the field for a closer look. 

best viewed while looking over by the fence
lower part of the dark pines
(13 sec)

After I figured out what was dancing before my eyes, I hustled back to the house to grab my camera. That caught Brad's attention. He came outside to see what was going on "are those all Hummers?" 

I was like a kid in a candy store! Natures show lasted around 10-15 minutes, then poof!! They were gone. Capturing the ever changing super fast magical shimmer performance of the Green Darner Dragonfly, was one of the hardest things I've attempted to photograph. What an incredible experience!! 

mystical shimmering
(enlarge to see one dragonfly, middle far right)

"The common, huge green or blue dragonfly most often seen in heavy numbers during late summer and fall, the green darner is known as one of our few migrating insects. Large hatches may occur simultaneously during August, with tens of thousands of insects moving south along with monarchs into fall."

9/3/21

Sometimes you get an unexpected uplifting surprise, when you need it the most.