What I saw was not that single dragonfly, but a mass -- a swirling, dipping, lifting swarm of feeding Wandering (or Spot-winged, I still don't know which) Gliders.
I've read about such phenomena, and two Sewanee folks told me about a swarm in the same general neighborhood last summer. Standing in one, however, is a whole other thing. It is just flat-out awesome.
An hour and more, I stood and then knelt among them. I tried, unsuccessully, to photograph them. And when they moved, I moved with them -- from the field beyond Farm Pond, to the edge of the dam, and then on to the road back to the Equestrian Center. Dozens and dozens of them taunted and teased and entertained me.
Later, I read David Haskell's essay "A Closer Look," in which he wrote, "Nature is a vast and ancient manuscript: we've recovered and read only scraps."
Today, I banqueted on a scrap, and it was delicious.
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