Painted skimmer dragonfly The rain stopped, the sun came out, and, once I cleared the decks of writing projects, I was able to head outside. My destination was a nature preserve in the next town—I'm helping out with a wildlife survey—and on the edge of the preserve's large meadow, right where it meets an equally large woodland, I spotted one of my favorite dragonflies: a painted skimmer. From the wing pattern and other characteristics, I suspect this is a female.