And the winner is...

I had this idea that, as it seems to be fern unfurling week, I would do a series of fern unfurling photos and then choose the best (i.e. least worst) ((can you say "least worst"?)) when I got home. This would save snapping blindly and randomly at everything on the dunes and confusing myself.

So I took a series of fern unfurling photos and then I liked this big daisy flower I saw as I left the dunes. I think it's an osteospermum (AKA African daisy).

So the winner of the fern unfurling competition is a daisy.

Walking along the beach I decided to collect white stones and white pebbles again. I collected a few a couple of weeks ago to put in the bottom of my bird bath/bee bath to keep the water shallow so the bees don't drown. By the weirdest coincidence when I got home there was indeed a drowned bee marooned on a stone - out of the water, but saturated. I was heartbroken. It was all my fault, the water was too deep.
Saturated bees are a sorry sight. I looked closely and blew gently. It was still alive. Just. But it was in the shade on a cold day, in a cold wind and the pebble it was on was cold and wet.

I lifted up the pebble with the bee still clinging on and took it inside. I gently hoffed my warm breath on it and placed it carefully on the table.
I put a drizzle of agave nectar in front of it: Not interested
I put a teaspoon of honey in front of it: Not interested
I put a teaspoon of sugar water in front of it: It flopped into it and nearly drowned again.

I put it on a piece of kitchen towel and talked to it and continued to hoff warm air at it.

It slowly began to look less soggy and started to move around. It flopped into the sugar syrup a few more times and I couldn't tell whether it was intentional or not. It didn't seem to be drinking it - just wading through it.

Suddenly it was 3.30 and Tess was home from school and I had lost over an hour nursing a bee! A bee that will probably die anyway. I didn't give up though. It lifted its wings finally - its wings that had been pasted to its poor little body by all the water - and walked around in circles arching its back.
Finally the sun came out and I put the bee in a basket of daisy, dandelion, aquilegia, scabious, thyme and apple blossom flower heads, and left it in a patch of sun. It seemed it would be churlish to desert it now.

A few minutes later it finally buzzed. A pissed off buzz as it tried to fly through a closed window. Yup: it banged its head on the window and I nearly killed it again!

I opened the patio door to let it fly away but it seemed unimpressed - I expect it was the cold air - and went quiet and still again. So I put it back in its basket, where it cuddled up face deep in some apple blossom. And that where I've left it. I did see it kicking away an ant, so I hope it doesn't get pestered by a whole load of them.

Send positive thoughts to my bee friend for a safe night.

(Took LOADS of photos of it. Might put them on flickr tomorrow)