I was looking through my photos and deciding that I probably need a bit of a sort out as I now have 27,000! As often happens when I try to sort things out, I drifted from the matter in hand and started looking through the images. I soon found some shots of dragonflies I wanted to share with you. These unreal insects are a real favourite of mine and often appear in my stitched designs.
My interest actually started because I have seen beautiful dragonfly designs on early embroideries and then in stumpwork and in beads, but I did not get up close and personal with the real thing until a visit to Whelford Pools. This small park opened near our home in Fairford and it boasted a dragonfly pond. The park was formerly a gravel extraction area and has been wonderfully restored by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and we have all sorts of wild fowl, owls, deer and, of course, dragonflies!
Some of the dragonflies are enormous and actually very noisy as they fly just above the water. I have also been lucky enough to see dragonflies in my garden. Last summer, one landed about 18in from my head and stayed there for about 40 minutes. I now think that he had just left my pond and was drying his wings before heading off to look for a mate. He really was all those colours…
