Yesterday’s clouds were replaced a beautiful blue morning. We regarded this as a bonus since the Aujourd’hui forecast from a few days ago had us expecting unsettled weather.
It wasn’t just us that was enjoying the sun and warmth; a pair of dragonflies was using the hedge to our pitch as a launch pad for their hunting sorties. Their behaviour made them obviously so-called darters of one sort or another but of which sort, I know not. There are supposedly about 100 species of Odonata in Europe and my field guide contains about 20. For the moment, it will remain anonymous. I’m pretty sure that I snapped a male and a female of the species, though. There is a most peculiar feature on what I think is the female: there are strange red bead-like structures visible near the bases of the hind wing.
Eventually I stopped invading the darters’ privacy so we could go shopping and stock up the fridge. Following lunch, a swift 15-mile round trip on the bikes into Mèze and back. Mèze harbour was looking particularly appealing in some warm, later afternoon sunlight. Had anybody thought to bring a camera? No! Neither had anyone brought any money for a beer in one of the harbour’s very French bars. Brilliant! Call yourself tourists? Apparently not. Drat! It was a very pleasant ride, though.
What on earth are those dragonflies?
Fantastic photographs. If you see this comment, then this is the correct version of your website on server 213.229.67.222
Happy posting