Hello Friend!

Today, I had an amazing encounter with a beautiful new friend, a dragonfly!

I have always loved dragonflies! From the time I was a small child, the dragonfly character, “Evinrude” from The Rescuers, caught my attention. He was a courageous and hard working little dragonfly, and you just knew he was always going to save the day.

So, today when I ran into my new little friend the dragonfly, I immediately remembered Evinrude.

I won’t lie to you. I was incredibly caught off guard when I saw this dragonfly. She was lying on my back porch in a shady area. She was huge! At first, I thought it was a “treasure” that my puppy brought up to the porch and I got worried. It was the size of a small bird.

As I came in closer, I could see that it was leaning with one of it’s front legs tucked under her.

She looked injured.

That made me even more worried about her well-being. I decided to scoop it up, with the intention of putting it out in the flower garden. Then, she stood up!

She moved herself around and tried to fly, but, again, something seemed wrong.

I took my puppy into the house and then went back outside to my new friend.

What had happened to her to bring her there?

Was she ok?

How could I help?

I asked her all of these questions and more as I sat and waited with my new friend.

She didn’t move, but she did want to face me, moving her body around as I moved.

In fact, it seemed like she began to pose for me!

Her wings were one of the MOST beautiful things I have ever seen! They were completely transparent, yet so unbelievably intricate and delicate. The reflection of the blue sky and the red bricks from my home seemed to light them up like stained glass windows! Their fragility made me worry for her ability to fly, and I felt a need to give her a little pep talk.

“Just rest for a bit for now, and when you’re ready, give it a try.”

I started to wonder, can she hear me?

Can she see me?

Can she see anything?

Are those eyes?

If she doesn’t fly soon, what do dragonflies eat? Will I be able to feed her? HOW do dragonflies eat?

The questions were never ending!

I began to research how I would care for my new friend and I turned around to find a chair to sit on. When I turned back around, she was gone!

I thought she had fallen off of the porch into the green grass. I looked everywhere. She was nowhere to be found.

As I sat down to ponder my interaction, I saw her! She was flying all over the yard and she kept doing passes over my head!

I cried with happiness!

I was so proud of her, and so relieved that her body and her fragile wings were still able to take her up! I cheered her on as if she were my own child!

She did it!

Just like Evinrude, this dragonfly demonstrated amazing courage in her interactions with me, and her ability to get up and just keep going!

Perhaps my new friend visited me to tell me something.

Maybe she came to show me how it’s done.

I will be thinking about my new friend for quite some time, and the messages she possibly brought to me.

What a very special encounter!

Dragonflies are beautiful!