Your Free Surprise is Waiting

We like raspberries.

Those red spheres of delicious juice and healthy fiber lure us to the raspberry patch when the berries are ripe. A few days ago, it was my mission to fill a bowl of raspberries to add to my breakfast bowl of oatmeal the next morning. I did not expect to see death in the garden-but it was there.

It’s my habit to gaze around the area while doing things outside.

My wife finds it distracting and considers it dangerous when we are driving. Yes, she’s right. But this was not a road trip. It was a raspberry trip. Out of the corner of my eye there was movement to my right. This little movement stopped all raspberry picking.

What should we do when something moves outside but we are unsure of where or what it is? Simple:

Stand still.

Move your eyes not your feet.

Scan the area in front of you.

It worked for me. There, to my right and just ahead of where I stood was a green dragonfly. We’ll name it soon, not yet. It was perched on a large cucumber leaf. It was not moving. What should we do when we see a wild creature and want to see more of it?

Stand still.

Move your eyes, not your feet.

As I stood and watched, my eyes took in more of the scene. My brain had time to process what my eyes were telling me. In moments it became clear that not only was there a beautiful dragonfly in front of me, there was a second insect with the dragonfly.

We’ve come to death in the garden.

This dragonfly had a white sulfur butterfly clasped in its jaws. As I watched it became evident that not much of the butterfly remained. Conclusion? The dragonfly, an Eastern Pond-hawk, had eaten most of the butterfly already.

I rushed back to our house to grab my camera.

My guess was the dragonfly would stay where it was a while longer to finish feeding. When I returned there was even less of the butterfly remaining. It seemed there was only a part of one of its wings left. The dragonfly wasn’t about to abandon its lunch. It flew to a nearby raspberry leaf on my left when I got too close with the camera.

Is there a lesson to this little account?

Sure.

Make plans to go outside every day.

Expect to experience a surprise.

How many times have I witnessed a dragonfly eating another insect? There may have been only one other time. Don’t expect rare events like the dragonfly with a butterfly. Expect to be surprised. Creation is filled with surprises. Nature surprises are always free…and delightful. Perhaps seeking nature surprises could become a new pastime?