Dragonfly Razzle Dazzle

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Enchanted Seashells

So…I got sick again, this time a really nasty upper respiratory virus with a high fever and a headache that made me want to chop off my head, that’s how bad it hurt. I wasn’t able to read or watch TV or do anything but lay in bed with an icepack on my forehead.

I hadn’t been sick in so long that I had forgotten how miserable it feels. As if shingles wasn’t bad enough, this was the icing on the cake of misery.

Now that I seem to be on the mend after some much-needed antibiotic help since I got a secondary bacterial lung infection, I’m looking at some drafts I started before I wasn’t able to function.

Right after I was almost completely healed from shingles, I took a walk and encountered a beautiful sight — dozens of dragonflies swirling around the front yard of a neighbor’s house.I took a photo but it didn’t capture the incredible vision of loveliness.

I think what I witnessed was a feeding swarm.

I’ve never seen more than one or two dragonflies at a time so I did some research. A group of dragonflies is most commonly called a swarm. Other, less common terms sometimes used include a flight, a cluster, or a dazzle.

Dazzle is funny because it makes me think of jazz hands. “Jazz hands!” IYKYK

Dragonfly swarms generally fall into two categories:

Feeding swarms: Small groups that hover low to the ground to catch smaller flying insects in a specific area. To see a large group of dragonflies means you’ve stumbled upon a massive feeding or migratory swarm. Biologically, it indicates a high abundance of flying prey like mosquitoes, often triggered by humid weather, or a seasonal shift. Symbolically, it represents transformation, adaptability, and positive change. A bunch of dragonflies spiritually amplifies the core symbolism of a single dragonfly: transformation, adaptability, and emotional maturity. Because they gather in groups, a swarm or cluster often represents a major shift in your life, a blessing of prosperity, or the energetic Massive Transformation: Just as a dragonfly goes from living in water to flying in the air, a cluster of them indicates a period of profound personal metamorphosis. It is an encouraging sign to trust the changes you are going through.
Spiritual Messengers: Many mystic and cultural traditions view dragonflies as bridges between the physical and spiritual realms. A gathering is often interpreted as a visual reminder that guardian angels or deceased loved ones are nearby and watching over you.
Abundance and Prosperity: In Chinese and Japanese folklore, dragonflies symbolize good fortune, swift success, and harmony. A bunch of them is a highly positive omen signaling incoming blessings, success, or wealth.
Emotional Clearing: Because of their strong connection to water, seeing them together is often a prompt to dive deep into your own emotions, release past illusions, and embrace new beginnings with a lighter heart.

I’m not sure how that applies to my own personal cluster of feeling like shit, but I’ll ponder on it while I lay here suffering in my woe-is-me state of wretchedness.

Here’s a cool poem about dragonflies by Tennyson, who wrote it in 1833:

The Dragon-Fly
Today I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;|
Thro’ crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.

Act of Kindness

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Enchanted Seashells

“Your acts of kindness are iridescent wings of divine love, which linger and continue to uplift others long after your sharing.” Rumi

Here’s my act of kindness…with literal iridescent wings…

As I was on my hands and knees cleaning out winter’s leaves from my little pond/waterfall in the garden, prepping for no more rain so I could fill it again, I heard a strange fluttering sound.

I looked up, and right above my head, I saw a Mourning Cloak butterfly held captive in a spider’s web, desperately trying to break free.

I immediately sprung to my feet (well, not SO immediately because I’m still careful not to further injure my torn meniscus that I’m stubbornly refusing to surgically repair) and freed the butterfly from certain death.

S/he fell to the ground because a very tiny bit of sticky web was holding freedom hostage and s/he couldn’t open her wings and fly away.

I sat next to her and very gently pulled off the remains of the spider web, hoping I hadn’t damaged anything, and the butterfly took off like a rocket. I couldn’t believe how fast s/he was. I never saw it again.

Poor little thing was a bit battle weary and bedraggled, but seemed to be OK after the ordeal with the spider web.

Have you ever touched the wings of a moth or butterfly and gotten some “powder” on your fingers? If you look through a microscope, that powder is actually tiny scales.These scales give butterflies and moths their scientific name Lepidoptera (from the Greek Lepido = scale, and ptera = wing). Each scale can be a different color and when placed next to each other, the mosaic makes up the color patterns we see. Curated from essig.berkeley.edu/exhibits/butterflywings/

Interesting, huh?

While it’s best not to touch a butterfly’s wings because it might inhibit their ability to fly, there was really nothing else I could do to save him/her. https://essig.berkeley.edu/exhibits/butterflywings/

Here’s the spiritual meaning of a butterfly with its wings stuck together by a spider web: It holds a powerful, dualistic spiritual message, often representing a, tension between the need for transformation and the reality of entrapment or stagnation. It suggests that a, period of metamorphosis or personal growth is being hindered by fear, limiting beliefs, or external obstacles. That’s pretty intense, don’t you agree?

No matter what it means, it’s a good feeling to help a wld creature.

Battered, Bruised, and Beautiful

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells

While other parts of the country feel the effects of a brutal winter storm, it’s sunny and relatively warm in SoCal.

Relatively, because I’m freezing even though it was in the mid-sixties today. I’m in a coat, scarf, and beanie. As much as I love to be outside, I HATE to feel cold.

This courageous Mourning Cloak butterfly savors the rays of the afternoon sun on a random soccer ball just before the coastal fog rolled in.

Mourning Cloaks live longer than most butterflies—ten months or more— so I hope this one finds a sheltered spot during next week’s forecasted rainy weather.

Battered, bruised, but still beautiful, and glorious to behold as she warms her wings.