Overnight, the heat departed, and in its wake, cooler heads, well, weather, began to prevail. I spent the morning photographing an annual event at our local library, and when I was finished, my reward was to load the truck with trash and recyclables, deposit the stuff at the landfill, and then head down the road to the Lantern Hill trailhead for a quick trek to the windy and chilly heights. In my mind, I riffled through a list of potential insects and birds I'd seen around this time, and tops among them was the Blue Corporal Dragonfly. Ladona deplanata is a Species of Special Concern in Connecticut, and, for reasons I don't know, it's a Lantern Hill specialty. Since I began my documentation project for the state and the University of CT five years ago, I've always found this ode for the first time every May sunning itself on the west-facing rocks just below the summit, and, sure enough, there it was, behaving true to form. It's actually a little late this year—no doubt, because of, the recent heat wave notwithstanding, our cool and wet spring. In fact, the Corporal was only the second dragonfly I've seen so far this year, but it looked fine, it wasn't alone, and I guess all's right with the Lantern Hill odonate world.