The sign of a good zoo, I think, is that it’s landscaped in such a way as to be friendly to native wildlife as well as the animals officially living in it. The National Zoo has done a good job of this, and the trees, hedges, and ponds that border its enclosures are well-populated with local birds, mammals, and insects.
I could talk about any number of those animals—and I probably will at some point—but today I not only saw a bunch of beautiful butter-, dragon- and damselflies, I overheard the following teenage conversation (I should say “monologue”) about said creatures:
“Ohmigod, the other day? There were dragonflies all over the softball field, and we were like, ‘What are they doing here?’ and Julie was like, ‘They’re mating,’ and it’s like, that is soo disgusting. Why do they have to do that here???”
I refrained from suggesting to them that adults probably feel the same way about their make-out sessions. Instead I simply documented the fact that damselflies were “doing that” at the zoo, too:
I could talk about any number of those animals—and I probably will at some point—but today I not only saw a bunch of beautiful butter-, dragon- and damselflies, I overheard the following teenage conversation (I should say “monologue”) about said creatures:
“Ohmigod, the other day? There were dragonflies all over the softball field, and we were like, ‘What are they doing here?’ and Julie was like, ‘They’re mating,’ and it’s like, that is soo disgusting. Why do they have to do that here???”
I refrained from suggesting to them that adults probably feel the same way about their make-out sessions. Instead I simply documented the fact that damselflies were “doing that” at the zoo, too:
1 comment:
These remind me of James Tiptree Jr.'s glamourous winged beings.
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