Love is in the Air

Yesterday Kris and I went over to CSUN, California State University, Northridge.  We like to go over there occasionally to visit their dragonfly pond.  They probably call it their duck pond, but we think of it as the dragonfly pond.

It’s a very peaceful setting in the middle of the San Fernando Valley.

But one of the first things we noticed is that they chopped down a lot of the foliage.  Right now, it looks like a desert, but there used to be six- to eight-foot-tall grasses all around the stream.   

We thought this a shame because it gives the dragonflies less places to land.  In our experience, dragonflies all seem to have a favorite reed.  They will take off, fly around, but always come back to the same reed.

This does make it easier to take pictures of them.  You find where they like to land, then wait patiently.  Of course, you have to find some that are cooperative.  Some will fly away as soon as you get near.  Others will get use to you and let you get pretty close.

It’s late in the summer, but it’s still apparently mating season.  We saw a number of mating pairs while we were there.  Like these two blue damselflies.

Ahh, love…

There was also a pair of larger blue dragonflies, but I couldn’t get anywhere near them. 

I did find two Red Skimmers that were cooperative.  I held my phone at arm’s length and got so close my phone couldn’t focus in on him.  I was probable about two inches away.

Once I got the distance right, I got some great pictures.

I am still amazed by the detail I could get on the wings.  This was with my Galaxy A15 that I’ve had less than a year.  And these pictures were without the close-up lenses that I used to use on my old phone.

Those were from the stream area.  In the pond area, I found another Red Skimmer.  There was also a blue damselfly perching on the same reef, but I couldn’t get a good close up of him.  But I got good ones of the Red Skimmer.

We’ll probably have a chance to go back one more time before they all disappear for the winter.  Then next year we will meet their offspring.  

Dennis

286th blog completed.

Second Steampunk novel: 17,027 words.  Chapter Five done.

Second Steampunk screenplay:  157 pages.

First Steampunk screenplay:  Updated with notes from the novelization.

First Steampunk novel:  77,546 words.  Completed until an editor reviews it.

Third Steampunk screenplay:  38 pages.

“This week’s experiment was Crack Chicken Tenders.  https://bestalltop.com/crack-chicken-tenders/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMomstleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOMk01TDIyUUZhQWpCejg4AR51GSLm53SFDsZaOTmxmXHJIMMHORNLgJPrghnpqUly9cerhtzYtY1Rcp_Cyw_aem_LZbYMFG-RUUGfl7677880w

These came out good, and without any dipping sauces, you can taste the Ranch Dressing Mix.  We served them with the Amish Onion Fritters from last time, which we just can’t get enough of.

We did serve them with various dipping sauces.  Wait, is that brain sauce?

No that was Chipotle, which was my favorite.   Kris’ was the Honey Mustard.  They were also good with BBQ.  They were a bit lighter in color than expected, and not as crispy.  The recipe calls for 20-25 minutes in the over, and while they were fully cooked, I would suspect 30-35 minutes would be better.” – Vincent Reinhart