Images on a hot first day of the new month.

In the heat, we seek solace in the shade of a tree near a water pond.

A rare shot of a dragonfly at the top, and a damselfly at the bottom.

So come and sit in the shade with us and let's have a look at what we can find for our cameras. The temperature on the day is 31degrees Celsius and it is a blazing sun and no clouds, with a very high UV warning. The weatherman reckons that people must not go about under the direct sun and rather stay indoors. Now, this could work if we had an air conditioner in the lounge to cool things down, but we have a small aircon in the bedroom, and it is not strong enough to cool the house down. So, the house inside feels like an oven in the heat. So, the best for us during the day, is to sit in nature under a tree with a soft wind blowing.

Not often that one can get them together, and it's a first for me.

I think that the damselfly is a Palmiet Sprite (Pseudagrion fucigerum).

And the red one I know well, as it's a Red-veined Dropwing dragonfly (Trithemis arteriosa).

Suddenly a blue dragonfly appeared, and he chased the damselfly away.

It looked like a male Navy Dropwing (Trihemis furva).

Now for something else look at the picture below.

No, not the water lily at the left of the picture, but have a look at the right hand of the picture and you will see a black wasp. It is called a Black Potter Wasp (Delta emarginatum).

If you think that the wasp is drinking water, then it is another no, as the wasp was not drinking water, but rather collecting water from the pool to make her mud nest. The male wasps do not build the mud nests, as the females build them. The mud nests are attached to rocks, buildings, or plants.

This is a very peaceful post that takes one's thoughts away from the troubles in our country. Weatherwise, for instance, is another story, as not only do we have wildfires, but we also have severe storms in other provinces of our country. Hailstorms are the worst, and it struck in the Free State Province causing many damages. Apparently, a tornado was also active during the storm. The wind drew a very large water tank 2km away down the road. Thankfully, the farmer found it again and it was still intact.

Other coastal towns are also in for a hiding from the storms and here by us, thankfully, things remain steady. We only have to worry about the strong and mental South Easter wind blowing these past weeks. Apparently, they reckon that this will be on record for weather changes. As we are close to the Atlantic Ocean, we think that it is the icebergs up north that are collapsing into the ocean that starts all the commotion.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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