First 2014 pondhawk

Baseball's opening day was two months in the past, but natural history doesn't stop with just one debut. There are creatures making themselves known for the first time this season all the time, and this newly emerged Pondhawk dragonfly is especially noteworthy. It's not, of course, because Pondhawks are rare; it's more because they're among the most common odonates on the ridge. These are the ones I've been looking for on the sides of the road where I walk, and it just doesn't seem to be quite June until I've had Pondhawks for company on a morning trek. This one's known as a teneral—a newly emerged adult dragonfly—and if it's a male, its color will change radically in the next few days. The male Pondhawks turn blue overall, but if it's a female, it will stay bright green and continue to sport the stripes on the abdomen. In either case, there'll soon be Pondhawks aplenty, both in the fields, the garden, the upland roads, and along the edges of the mill pond. I'll no longer be walking alone.