First Meadowhawk, Home, Pine

It's getting genuinely warm and humid... closing in on oppressive, really, especially with the rapidly developing drought. But today, on an exploration of the edge of the woods fringing the lawn, I noticed, on a little White Pine, a hopeful sign that things might improve soon enough. The little dragonfly clinging to a cluster of needles—always five per bundle in Pinus strobus—was a member of the Meadowhawk clan, a group of about half a dozen different species that, at a quick glance, appear to be not at all different from each other. To ID them, you have to capture the ode and, at the very least, stun it, typically with the chilly air of the refrigerator, then determine the diagnostic characteristics before the numb insect warms up. When I noticed the Meadowhawk, I didn't have a net with me, and it flew before I was able to photograph the right identification stuff. So all I have is a general idea of what it might be... except for the fact that I definitely know one thing: when the meadowhawks start to appear, we're nearing the middle of summer, and the eventual start of better weather. Well, better from my perspective.