Widow Skimmer (female)

Today I did my first real birding since returning from Ecuador. As I have experienced before when coming back from a birding experience in an "exotic" location, the familiar birds of my home area become even more interesting than they were before I saw all those new ones. These birds are my "neighbors" and I feel more connected to them. I know them well, but I know almost nothing about the new ones I see in foreign places. Anyway, I did see a "new" flying creature today -- this Widow Skimmer dragonfly down in my favorite nearby "wilderness" near the Willamette River.