Smiley Face Blue skimmer dragonfly - Orthetrum Caledonicum

The incredibly smiley face of a dragonfly
I couldn’t believe my eyes, I snapped away frantically, scared that what I saw wouldn’t show on digital film if I were to slow. The insect seemed to change it’s at first insect like face into a caricature of a human, cartoon like with big friendly eyes and a smile as big as can be. It would look at me then blink and change back into a dragon fly. It did this a few times and then flew away. Is it possible that this insect was trying to mimic me, to try to communicate with me somehow by making its face more readable? I will probably never know. But as you can see from the pictures I took, this miraculous little cartoon critter was not a figment of my meditative imagination but as real as the smile on my face when I saw that the photos had turned out all right. Does anyone know of any photography competitions I could enter this picture into? Here is the actual face of the dragonfly after it blinked
After work I went for a walk around the property, escaping the activity for a while to find a little quiet time.
Blue skimmer dragonfly
Orthetrum Caledonicum
Wingspan 70-80 mm. Breeds in still and flowing waters, including temporary ponds. Australia wide-except tas.

Listening very carefully to the quiet around me, appreciating the lack of human noise I walked very slowly amongst the long grasses with my camera. Hearing every blade of grass move as an insect landed on it, and following the buzzes of flight around me I focused my lense on this dragon fly, which had landed on a tall blade of bush grass. What I saw through my small telescopic lense was incredible. I spent a lot of time getting to know the bugs of Queensland. Nurelle had an interest in insects and could show me in her many books what kind of critters I had found. Walking along, trying to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible, I found an immense peace by listening so closely to the grasses for signs of insect life. Meditation, it seems, does not necessarily mean you have to sit cross legged in a room singing ummmmmmm, it just means emptying your head of thoughts.
Here are more examples of some of the insects I was introduced to in Upperstone.
Killer bee assassin bug
Green ants make a leaf origami home