Everything continues to be late this June, and the absence of some of the signature species of late spring has begun to be of concern—especially those every-year commoners that, in Junes past, I could hang my natural history hat on. But, late or not, I finally spotted the first of 2017's crop of Common Pondhawk dragonflies in the overgrown field across the street, and it was cause for celebration. The Pondhawk is one of our most abundant odonates, and it was among the first I ever learned to identify. There simply is nothing else like it... well, when it's either a newly emerged youngster or a female. Those fresh out of the larval phase of their life are known as tenerals, and they have the striking green color that is impossible to miss. Soon enough, the males will turn a characteristic blue, while the females mix just a little blue into the green. This was the first example I encountered of sexual dimorphism in dragonflies, and it was one of the initial reasons I got hooked on the insects: for heaven's sake, they're just like birds! The fact that they were so visible when birds were lost to the leaves was another reason. Their cooperation with the photographer and their striking beauty were, of course, the clinchers.