New oasis dragonfly species

Two days ago, while I was at the oasis watering trees and servicing feeders, I photographed a dragonfly that I suspected was a Flag-tailed Spinyleg. Unwilling to be audacious, I submitted it to Odonata Central as an Eastern Ringtail, figuring if it really was a Spinyleg, they'd change it to that. I was excited to check the site today and see it had been changed! (Note the spiny legs in the second photo.) 

My sister brought me this book from a thrift shop. Pretty hot and birdless in town today, so I started reading it. It really resonates with me the essence of birding.

As a child, or adult, I never fit in until I got hooked up with the birding community-- not coincidentally, when I got my first computer. The book expresses me better than I can express myself. For example, one of the authors, Jeffrey Gordon, states, "I had found a community in which I could make a positive and valued contribution. I could do things that surprised and delighted people---that made them feel happy and grateful." (pgxiii) "Most birders get a deep sense of satisfaction from helping others see and enjoy birds." (pgxiv) He further speaks of "finding one's place in the world.... I've found my home." (pgxvii)

Could've been written by me. Another author, Noah Strycker, proclaims, "Showing someone a lifer is as good as finding one yourself." (pg70) Sound familiar? If I remember correctly, Noah once visited the oasis, as did many other of the book's thirty-seven essay writers.

And I've always wondered why I could never get into meditation. I've long suspected birding gave me the same benefit. At 83, I'm happy and not on any medications for blood pressure, etc. David Puma (pg165) called birding, "a type of focused meditation." It's true for me, too. I get lost in birding so that the rest of the world ceases to exist. One thing I love about birding is there's so much to learn. Once I learn everything there is to know about a subject, I get bored with it. Can't ever get bored birding!