Monday's Hitchhiker 07-11-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Monday.  Question:  When a Damselfly gets tired of flying, what does it do?  Answer:  Well, it hitches a ride on someone's kayak!  Luckily for me, it was my kayak this time and, as it happens, I had a camera with me.  Yes, of course there is a price to be paid for me giving a Damselfly a ride.  He seemed to know this as I think he was striking a pose.  Some days it's just good to be me!

I hope you felt it was good to be you today.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Saturday in the Wind 04-02-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Saturday.  Today, as I was sitting out by my little pond I noticed a few damselflies  These two look like they are close friends - it was very windy and I believe they were trying to hang on and not be blown away.  I did my best to get a clear, sharp picture of them hanging on to each other.  You know, friendship is one of the most important things in life.  To have a close friend that you can count on to be there in the hard and windy times is paramount.  A person can feel blessed to have such a friend.  When that friend is also your spouse, well, you can count yourself doubly blessed.

I hope you had a great Saturday.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Monday Munchie

Copyright AJ Horton

Hello Monday.  There's a song sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter with a line, "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug," written by Mark Knopfler.  While I was at Cedar Creek Dam Access Area yesterday, I had help in noticing this lizard had captured a damselfly for its Sunday dinner.  I had been photographing the damselfly and turned around to look at something else and - WHAM!  The lizard got it.  I never even saw the lizard before this.  Since lizards don't always have to have legs, some ways to tell if they are a lizard versus a snake is if they have eyelids and external ears.  Lizards can actually smell!  They smell by sticking their tongues out and "tasting" the air.  I am not quite sure how that equates to "smelling", but you can find out more about lizards on http://www.bioexpedition.com/lizards/facts-about-lizards/ if you're interested.

But now, it looks like the lizard is "the windshield" and the damselfly is "the bug".  I guess that's the circle of life.  It also looks as though the lizard may have bitten off more than it could chew, which is sometimes how I feel on Mondays.   I always start of with great hope that I can accomplish all that needs to be done on Monday and then, at some point in the day, I realize that I was wrong.  And, like that little damselfly, I get eaten up by Monday.  But, unlike that little damselfly, I do live to fight another day.

How was your Monday?  Were you the "windshield" - or the "bug"?  Were you the "munchie" or the "muncher"?  I hope your Monday was marvelous!  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Staring Down Monday

Copyright AJ Horton

Hello on Monday.  Today I, along with this damselfly, am staring down Monday.  Mondays always seem to be a challenge.  So, I stared it down - and won.  Well, that, and a whole lot of work.  This damselfly reminds me of a day when, while someone else might think kayaking is work, I was at play.  I liked very much that this damselfly landed on my kayak to stare me down.  It was a win - win situation for me.  I won by being able to play on the water in my kayak, and I won by being able to make a photo of this character.  So now, on days that might not be that great, I can take a thought break from the day and think of and relive this day of kayaking.  Moments later I am ready to continue in the present.

How about you?  How do you get through a tough day?  Do you just hunker down and plow through it knowing it will be over eventually?  Or, do you take a moment, relive a great memory, smile, and then get back to the day feeling just a little bit better - maybe even a little bit energized?

However you do your days, I hope you had a momentous Monday.  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.

Tuesday's Fly on a Lily Pad

Copyright AJ Horton

So recently, you saw a fly on a log.  Today I have a fly on a lily pad for you.  It's a damselfly - some would say a dragonfly but I think dragonflies are bigger.  I know, on a lily pad, you would probably expect a little frog, but, not today.  Did you know that dragonflies and damselflies belong to the order Odonata?  I didn't either until tonight.  Odonata means toothed jaws.  What that means to you is that the larger dragon and damsel flies can actually bite you.  Oh, you'll hardly feel it, they're so small, but you'll feel it nonetheless.  The bite is harmless.  You can read more about them if you like on insects.about.com.  I hope you do look.  We all need to learn something new everyday.

I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday.  Thanks for looking.  I'll see you tomorrow.