Sometimes Nature Come to You...

Tuesday evening, Shara and I were sitting on our porch swing when she noticed this dragonfly hanging out on the porch ceiling.

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) - dorsal view

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) - lateral view

After much consulting of field guides and the internet,  I decided that this was probably a Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) - this was later confirmed by a local expert (Thanks, Stan!)  This species is common across much of North America.  This is the first darner that I have found at our house.  We commonly have meadowhawk dragonflies and several species of damselflies, but no large odonates.

Our neighbors probably already think that we are a bit odd, a viewpoint that we confirmed by bringing a stepstool out onto the porch to take photographs of this dragonfly perched on the ceiling.  Personally, I prefer to think of myself not as odd, but rather as "eccentric".