When I finished hauling all of the trash—praise be, more recyclables than garbage—to the various proper places at the dump, er, transfer station, I somewhat nervously decided to try a trek I hadn't made since before the heart surgery. Small hills were still a challenge, and I just wasn't sure that I could handle, without passing out, a long and unrelenting ascent, but it was time to see just how far I'd come. And so I started up Lantern Hill. The hike had long been my reward for the trash task, and while the walking today was not as easy as it had been, I made it to the summit and gave a scream of triumph. After the echo faded away, I started down and almost immediately noticed the glint of sunlight on a blur of wings. I followed the critter to its landing spot on the quartz boulders and "captured" the first dragonfly of the year: an uncommon odonate known as the Blue Corporal. This ode is special. It's on the CT list of rare and endangered species, and I've been monitoring the Lantern Hill population for many years. I was almost giddy with joy that the Corporal... and its documenter... could report for duty.