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25 August 2014 Dewy-eyed damsels

Sometimes, just sometimes, dreams become reality. Today was one such day.

I have long been gobsmacked at images of damselflies covered in dew, too wet to fly until the first rays of sun have burned off the liquid impediment to life - and thus converted temporarily into living jewels. This summer, I have been inspired by Marc Heath's images from Kent (indeed, from a site south of Reculver that I visited several times, and love).

Yesterday evening, weather conditions were promising for a sally at dawn today: evening rain, then clear skies and cold overnight. The perfect conditions for dew, and thus for dawn's dewy-eyed damsels. The location was more problematic. Being a recent arrival in Norwich, I do not yet have stakeouts. Nevertheless, I followed my intuition and reasoned that I could surely find at least one damselfly in the vegetation surrounding our local fishing lake in New Costessey. And one would be all I needed - as the poor, soaked blighter would not be able to fly and thus I could take portraits at my leisure. I was right and, in the end, found three Small Red-eyed Damselflies and one Blue-tailed Damselfly all right for portraiture. Reverie, no more.