Hmmm, when the tally of our days in this life is taken, will it be the small moments of simplistic joy that stand out?
The fourth in my “Up Close and Personal” series of posts injecting little gems of beauty into our lives as physical distancing keeps us in lockdown. Today I revisit memory snapshots of winged wonders from summers past – aka Diary of Unabashed Nature Geek.
Memory Snapshot: Riffle Snaketail
Early June. Kortright Centre for Conservation. Strolling down in the valley along the river. Good time for Clubtails. There’s one. Oh, a Snaketail! Rarely see one of them. A Rusty? Check the field guide. No, maybe a Riffle Snaketail? Clear stream, sandy bottom, rocky rifles – it all adds up. A lifer!
Memory Snapshot: Coral Hairstreak
Early July. Palgrave Conservation Area. The footpath cutting through the meadow towards the first swamp pond. Always a promising stretch. Scanning right and left. Something just popped up in the weeds. Creep closer. Closer. Coral Hairstreak! Not quite a lifer, but the only second one I’ve ever set eyes on.
Memory Snapshot: Spatterdock Darner
Early July. Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. Wrapping up the day on the trail back to the parking lot. Let’s scramble up that hill through the wildflowers. A mosaic Darner perched low in the grass. Probably a Lance-tipped. No, look at that thorax stripe. That’s new! Check the Field Guide. Spatterdock Darner. A lifer!
Memory Snapshot: Variegated Fritillary
Early July. Claireville Conservation Area. The main north-south road nearing the intersection with the east-west road. Something fluttering just off the road. A Fritillary, but not a Great Spangled. A Variegated! Unusual this far north. Must have been blown north by the epic rain storm a few days ago.
Memory Snapshot: Mottled Darner
Early July. Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. The trail through trees along the ridge. A sunny glade. There – a mosaic Darner perched on a tree trunk. Hmmm, rather muted colour. Oh, look at that hooked thorax stripe. Check the field guide. Mottled Darner – a lifer!
Beauty can be a contagion too. No social distancing here. Get up close and personal. It is allowed.
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~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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Tags: Coral Hairstreak · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Mottled Darner · Riffle Snaketail · Spatterdock Darner · Variegated FrtillaryNo Comments