“Dragonflies dancing above the lake, near the summer’s end — a moment the wind almost forgot to breathe.” – Ed Lehming

Nature provides these miraculous moments that take my breath away. They are almost always spontaneous and unexpected. I had just walked along the stretch of beach and never even noticed them. Maybe it was the angle of the sun, or maybe I was focused on something else, but when I stepped over the dunes for a different view, the dragonflies filled my sight. It hearkened me back to summers lying in a meadow, looking up at the clouds and seeing the sky filled with dragonflies high above.

I sat on an old driftwood log on the shore and just watched them dance and weave through the sky. They are quite amazing in their maneuverability and speed. I had read somewhere recently that because they have such control over their movement, they have one of the highest success rates in catching their prey of any predator, and I can believe it.

The show never stopped in the time I spent sitting, so there must have been a plentiful supply of food, though there was nothing that I could see.

The other amazing thing that I witnessed, but was unable to capture, was the migration of Monarch butterflies across the lake to their winter home in Mexico, over 4,000 kilometers away. One by one, I saw them head across the water, the start of their journey.

So, a day that I figured would simply be a relaxing stroll on the beach and some nice shoreline photos gave me so much more. It gave me an airshow of sorts and I was happy to be able to document it.

iPhone 17 Pro Max
Main Camera — 24 mm
1/6172 sec, ƒ/1.78 ISO 64