When the background in a photo is cluttered, it is often hard to see the main subject, but that was not the case with this beautiful female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) that I photographed on Tuesday at Huntley Meadows Park, a local wetlands. I love the brilliant green of the this dragonfly’s thorax and the blackish banding on its abdomen (the “tail”).
You can’t really see it from this angle, but both female and male Eastern Pondhawks have green faces. This is particularly important for mature males, because it helps to easily distinguish them from males of other species that have a similar bluish coloration on their bodies.
There is something soothing and cooling about this photo, probably because of the sea of green vegetation that surrounds the dragonfly. I can’t help but think of Kermit the Frog singing one of his iconic songs, “It’s not easy being green.” Initially Kermit laments the fact that he is green and blends in with so many ordinary things. Eventually, though, he comes to accept himself as he is, rather than wishing he were different, realizing the beauty of his greenness.
Without getting all preachy, I think there is a lesson there for all of us. Someone famously said that “Comparison is the thief of joy” and we can end up feeling really bad when we compare ourselves with the curated versions of people we see on social media. Wouldn’t it be better if we could all recognize that we are all beautiful in our own unique ways? As I have repeatedly written on this blog, I believe that beauty is everywhere if we can slow down enough to see it,
On the off chance that you are not familiar with the lyrics of “It’s not easy being green,” I have included them below, as found on theteachersguide.com.
“It’s not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold…
or something much more colorful like that.
It’s not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord’nary things.
And people tend to pass you over ’cause you’re
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky.
But green’s the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain,
or tall like a tree.
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful!
And I think it’s what I want to be.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Excellent commentary (and photo)! 🙂
Thanks, Charlie. I sometimes use a photo as a jumping off point to discuss something that is on my mind. I tend to write in a stream-of-consciousness way and never quite know in advance what rabbit holes I will end up going down into. I initially thought this would be a short, factual post, but, as you saw, I went off on a tangent that forced me to change the original title of the posting before I hit the “publish” button. 🙂
I love Kermit, I love the song, and I love the way you have captured all of the wonderful greens in this image.
Stunning beauty!
A beautiful photo that becomes even moreso when enlarged. I could not help but notice listed under “Related” a much earlier post from 2017 “Green-eyed beauty”. Upon visiting that post two things were discovered : 1) No surprise, the photo is spectacular and 2) The commentary is brief and to the point! That said, your marvelous photos stand alone but are made more enjoyable and entertaining when coupled with commentary such as today’s. Green has been my lifelong favorite color and the song is an old favorite too. That song written by Joe Raposo and sung by Jim Henson started out being called “Green” and by the time it appeared in Sesame Street in 1970 it had become “Bein’ Green” though my first encounter was on the Muppet Show in 1978. Since Kermit is on my mind I’ll conclude my lengthy comment with some lyrics from another song : “Life’s like a movie. Write your own ending. Keep believing; keep pretending. We’ve done what we set out to do thanks to the lovers, the dreamers and you.” Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
so true, Mike! There’s beauty in all of us!
So pretty! I’ve not seen this variety before.
Thanks. I see this species quite often and, despite their relatively small size, Eastern Pondhawks are fierce predators. Each season I see them feasting on damselflies or even on other dragonflies that they have captured. Yikes!
[…] It’s not easy being green […]
I experienced the green against green with a dragon fly this week. Great post.
The way you’ve captured the green-on-green composition really makes the dragonfly’s thorax pop—it’s a great example of how a cluttered background can actually enhance a subject when the tones align. Your reflection on Kermit’s song and the idea of comparison stealing joy reminds me of a similar thought I had while watching a nature documentary recently: we often overlook the subtle beauty in what surrounds us daily. Speaking of seeing things in a new light, I’ve been experimenting with AI video tools to animate still nature shots, and the results can be surprisingly meditative—almost like giving a photo a gentle breath of life. If you ever want to see how your photos might look in motion, there’s a tool that handles this kind of thing at https://seadanse.com. Keep sharing these thoughtful posts; they’re a reminder to slow down and appreciate the green in our own lives.
There is a lot to be said for learning self-acceptance.
Furthermore, green is the color of chlorophyll. And without chlorophyll, we would not be here.