Finding my place on the food chain…

“Mosquitoes remind us that we are not as high up on the food chain as we think.”  ~Tom Wilson

I’ve been informed by a reliable source that the mosquitoes that have been driving me bonkers the last few days are not here because we got so much rain during Tropical Storm Irene.  Those mosquitoes have yet to hatch.  Oh, joy!  The ones that are making me crazy right now may have been blown in during the storm or maybe they were here all along waiting for me to take the dog for a walk.  No matter!  Wherever they are from, I wish they would go back.

I am an animal lover.  I don’t kill spiders.  I know that everything has its place in this world.  But I HATE mosquitoes.  It seems that if I am sitting in crowd of people, I’m swatting away while everyone else is sitting and having fun.  They love me.  I don’t love them.  Greg gets that look on his face and says stuff like, “It’s because you’re sooo sweet!”  Right!  Damn bugs!  Just leave me the BLEEP alone!

But here I’m going to put a positive spin on the old mosquito thing.  The one good thing about them is that some of my favorite creatures consider them to be a real delicacy.  Swallows, bats and most especially dragonflies eat them with great relish.  The last few days, the dragonflies have been out with a vengeance.  Usually when I approach them with my camera, they say, “Sorry, Charlie” and fly away.  Lately, probably because they are too full to fly, they have been sitting there posing for me.    Aren't they beautiful?!