Robley's Rules for Odonata-Watching at Lake Cheston

1. Go early.
2. Slather on the Neutrogena.
3. Make sure both batteries are fully loaded.
4. Wear insect pants with long socks pulled over them.
5. Put on a long-sleeved man's shirt, preferably bought during the all-you-can-stuff-into-one-grocery-bad sale at the Hospitality Shop.
6. Wear a baseball cap.
7. Surrender one strong pair of athletic shoes and the orthotic inserts to the rigors of the environment.
8. Set the camera to the preferred setting as soon as I get out of the car.
9. Be prepaed: I may get only one shot.
10. Pause to check out the baskers on the culvert by the gate to the dam.
11. Check out the area under the trees in the elbow between dam and picnic area.
12. Find a happy spot and sit or stand.  Still.  Look and listen and let them land.
13. Move from favorite spot to favorite spot only when satisfied with one area
14. Never ever push the telephoto past 5X, the end of optical telephoto.
15. Break rule number 12 for certain damselflies, which cannot come into focus otherwise.
16. Remember that the experience matters, not the shot.
17. Go again, mid-afternoon.