There's been a string of unseasonal cool mornings recently, but today the cool temperature brought some good luck. Around 9:30 this morning I spotted a very beautiful large orange dragonfly clutching a large rose bud in my backyard rose bed. From prior experience with other dragonflies, I suspected that it had been there all night, and that it would stay still for a while until the morning sun warmed up its body and wings -- enough time for me to grab my camera and take the 2 photos shown below. Swift action paid off, because the dragonfly had already flown away by 10:30. By the way, any mosquito-eating dragonfly is a welcome guest in my yard.
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| Photo taken: June 16, 2016 |
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| Photo taken: June 16, 2016 |
Update of June 18, 2016: Another dragonfly spent the night up high on a rose bush and remained for a couple of photos this morning. Although the new dragonfly was smaller than the one shown above, it had the same knack for finding a perfect spot to sleep, which is at least four feet from the ground on the side of the rose bush (south side) that will receive the first sun. Recalling that this is a blog about rose seedlings, let me say that the rose bushes chosen by the dragonflies are both tall growing seedlings from a parent 'Queen Elizabeth' rose.
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| Photo taken: June 18, 2016 |
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| Photo taken: June 18, 2016 |
