When I was a kid, these scary looking flyers were known as "darning needles," and inspired fear and dread whenever they buzzed within sight of the family.

Its not like we lived nearby a marsh or a pond, either, so the occasional dragonfly or damselfly would buzz by, and anyone within sight  would commence to scream in terror, run for cover and flail our arms in self-defense.

Which brings me to this photo of a ruby-throated hummingbird. Even though they are quite common in this area, it took a trip to Western MA a few years ago for me to add this bird to my life list.

I think that my dragonfly paranoia may have interfered with my enjoyment of the hummingbirds. It occured to me the other day that its quite possible that I may have inadvertently swatted a few of these tiny wonder-birds while fleeing from what I beleived to be a giant "darning needle"

Now that I'm older and better informed, I can enjoy the dragonflies and damselflies that enter my personal space. There's something about them that is mysterious and a bit mystical, as well. Up close, they have a freakish, alien-like appearance, which helps to explain our fear of these harmless mosquito-eaters.

There's something else that draws me to them, as well. They seem to have an unexpected sentience that you wouldn't expect from an insect. I've had dragonflies fly over, pose for pictures, and then bring their friends into range to do the same.

During these interactions, their movements seem intentional and purposeful. They have that certain quality that I've come to expect from the "higher orders" of animals. . . it seems that they're watching me while I'm watching them.

In the picture to the right, this dragonfly flew into the scene I was framing, paused until I clicked the shutter, then flew off.