Standing at the edge of Anderson Marsh, where the summer trails disappear into standing water, I can tell my quest is going to have a different ending: no dragons, no damsels, no happily ever after.

What I’m really looking for on the southern tip of Clear Lake are dragons and damsels of a different sort: dragonflies and damselflies. Stalking dragonflies is a hobby some call “oding,” from the name of their taxonomic order, Odonata. Sometimes compared to birding, oding is often picked up by birders because they already possess the tools of the trade: binoculars, the ability to spot small flying objects, and the love of the hunt — even a failed one.