Help!

It was drizzling slightly while I was out with the camera this morning but I found it quite pleasurable. Great excitement in Butterfly Alley, I spotted a spreadwing damselfly. It was in nearly the same place as I saw one a couple of years ago. I wasn't quick enough to capture that one. Most damsels fold their wings parallel with their abdomens. The spreadwings are not as common. I think mine might be a willow emerald. I was delighted to be able to post it on Day 1 of #DragonflyWeek. I also got a nice shot of an Essex skipper butterfly. (Extras)

When I went out again after lunch I noticed that a bee I had seen on yarrow was still there. I am not as interested in shooting bees as other bugs but I got down on my knees to investigate. The poor thing had tiny, withered, useless wings and a withered front leg. It was waving its other legs in the air, a sure sign of distress.

I've got a bit of a sore throat and was sucking a Strepsil. I gave it a really good tongueing and then spat saliva onto the yarrow. The bee stopped waving and immediately started licking frantically at my spit. I've included a pic of the tip of its tongue curling to reach the sweet moisture. Strepsils contain sugar. It won't survive with its disabilities. Maybe I should have squashed it instead?

Today's poem is Maybe I by Nazim Hikmet. I can't find a link to this, sorry.

NH has been described as a romantic communist. He was revered by the Turkish nation. His poems depict the people of the countryside, villages, towns and cities of his homeland, written while he was in prison for his beliefs. His anti war poem, I Come And Stand At Every Door, is a plea for peace from a seven-year-old girl who has perished in an atomic bomb attack. It has been set to music and The Byrds recorded a version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYxwQCqHkRw