Nature's Place

 
It was the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere and the Dragons are dancing.

Dragonflies are beautiful creatures, their colours and sleek air travelling design are appealing to me. And magnificent hunters, apparently masters in their domain – the air to some feet above the ground in this case.

I love to watch them seemingly defy any common sense of what a flying creature its size can do, darting this way and that, flashing colour as they go, turning right angles at speed with ease and taking their prey on the wing. Their manoeuverability is really impressive.

Their shape is not dissimilar to the helicopter that is also such a successful predator in mans wars. I wouldn’t be surprised if some clever fellow got the idea from watching these little fellows, probably in a moment of silence – when he or she stopped trying to figure the design.

That’s often when the solution to an apparent problem arrives, in silence of mind.
 

The sky was filled with Dragonflies. Tens of them in the air above the trail to a height of about fifteen feet. One occasionally chasing the other as I watched from the ground against the background of the sky. They were easy to see.

When I got to the trail I noticed one dragonfly was holding position two to three feet above the trail against a strong cross wind. Then every now and again patrolling up and down a sunny stretch about ten metres long. Chasing off any other dragonflies that came along, apparently.

Every now and then a small brown butterfly would come down the trail, across the wind, and the dragonfly would chase it in a quick circle before it went into evasive flutter mode and the dragonfly gave up on it. Intelligent butterflies.

Once I saw a larger brown butterfly come down the trail chased by the dragonfly, then turn on it and chase the dragonfly. The dragonfly did a quick retreat and went about its business.

Made me laugh that, the prey turning on the predator. So much for masters in their domain, maybe he was a learner?
 

There’s always someone bigger and stronger until you get to the end of the line. Always a greater power just around the corner.
 
Copyright Reserved / Mark Berkery