Dragonflies and Bees Are Good For Your Soul
My wife and I just spent five days camping in Southwestern Wisconsin. A good part of the time was spent just relaxing, sitting by the creek, watching nature do its thing.
There didn't seem to be as many birds around as in past years. We saw the usual Blue Jays, Goldfinches, Blackbirds and Sparrows, but never any Blue Herons or Kingfishers. We did hear some Owls hooting back and forth across the valley, but of course, those are almost impossible to spot due to the density of the woods.
What we did see one day were amazing swarms of Dragonflies zipping around gorging themselves on gnats. Usually, you see three or four Dragonflies flying close to the water, but this time, there must have been a hundred of them, flying rather high and very fast. I suspect there may have been a hatching of gnats that the D-flies were feasting on. The big swarm only happened one day; the other days were back to normal for the Dragonfly count.
I spent a few minutes falling into the Dragonfly Wikipedia rabbit hole. I had no idea there were so many species, and I was surprised to see that they can generate up to Nine G's with their sharp turns.
The other insect swarm was the Sweat Bees, the tiny little yellow ones that love to swarm around your face. They don't sting, but they can get annoying. I spent a few minutes watching one that landed on my hand. It was feeding on the salt on my skin. Its little tongue worked like a hoover, sucking up the salt or whatever it was enjoying.
It was wonderful to get away for a few days. Sitting in a beautiful, somewhat deserted campsite listening to the creek burble and the birds sing does wonders for your soul.