Damsel Mating Wheel

I've read this week that some female dragonflies drop out of the sky and play dead to avoid the unwanted attention of males. It can't be fun to be hijacked by a male and be clasped very tightly by the back of the neck by his special pincers without a by your leave. 

I watched this pair of damselflies on the Amwell Nature Reserve Dragonfly Trail. They were conjoined in the wheel and then her tail broke free. He tickled the tip of her tail with his feet and she curled it up into position again. :)

Today's poem is First Love by John Clare. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50263/first-love-56d22d33757cd

Sad to read this knowing of JC's poor mental health. He loved Mary when he was a child and believed that he had married her. Sad too that this second and last JC poem in my book is not one of my favourites about the countryside and wildlife that he loved and I love. :(