Whirligigs a-whirl

The drought is deepening—according to the US Drought Monitor, we've made the frightening transition into the light green, "moderate drought" designation for the area—and there's barely any water coming over the falls at the millpond. That said, there's still a stream flowing out of the bottom of the falls, and though it's shallow and now just about empty of odes working the surface, there's plenty of action... if you know where to look. The Whirligig Beetles are congregating in large groups, some a foot across, on the slow moving sections of the surface, and within these collectives, the world is in constant motion. Whirligigs are familiar to just about anyone who's watched flat water, and they're among the first insects to appear in the spring. They're also among the last to call it a season in mid-autumn. They'll be doing their dervish dances for at least another month, and in fairly short order, they'll have the dance floor entirely to themselves—if, of course, we still have water.