Twelve Spotted Dragonfly

This week I am seeing some new dragonflies emerging. Now we have some Twelve-Spotted Skimmers, Libellula-pulchella, helping to do battle against the deer flies and horse flies. Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonflies slightly resemble the Common Whitetail dragonflies that I posted about a couple weeks ago. When they sit still for a moment it is easy to spot some of the key differences between those dragonflies. I love seeing these dragonflies, as well as the Whitetails, as they have the size and agility to easily take down many of the annoying biting insects around the ponds.

I also took a few photos of plants and flowers around the garden and in the fields. The orange daylilies, Hemerocallis fulva, are in peak bloom. Those lilies can spread and choke out even the most aggressive grasses so I like to situate them where they will help make garden maintenance easier rather than become a nuisance. They are useful on difficult patches that can’t be reached by the mower, or on slopes and ditches that are prone to erosion or waterlogging.

Out in the dry fields the sunflower-like Gaillardia, aka “Blanket Flower”, is in full bloom. They look like large orange daisies with yellow tipped petals. Perennial Sweet Pea is flowering too. The deep pink perennial sweet pea plants look nice in the wild, are very hardy, low-maintenance and will tolerate poor soil. While they have many advantages over the annual type there is a trade-off. The hardy perennial sweet pea lacks any of the scent and color variety that the delicate annual type is famous for.