Damsel in Distress

When I spotted this little damselfly I didn't realize it was caught in a spider web.  Once I figured out why it was being so cooperative as I stalked it, I set about freeing it from the web, but not before I saw that it had already broken one of its wings.  These are always hard things for me - on the one hand, I want to try to save it and on the other hand, I know it would be impossible.  Should I have left it in the web for the spider?  (Spiders need to eat too).  Should I leave it in the vegetation where something else is likely to get it?  I opted for the latter.  And take some consolation in knowing that damselflies have a very short life in the best of circumstances.  

I am fairly certain this is an Eastern Forktail although it's possible it could be a Fragile Forktail.  I will have to send the image to a friend to get his expert opinion.  It's dark for an Eastern FT, but that would be a more likely species in the yard.  

I had a great time this morning with the friend who came over to shoot birds.  It was overcast and quite cool but the bird activity in the garden was excellent and we both got some good shots.  I shared with her some of the things I do when I'm shooting birds and we agreed to do this again.  It's fun for me to be shooting with someone who enjoys the antics of the birds as much as I do.  And it turns out she's a bug-girl too, so there may be some macro safaris at some point.

Jax was super excited to have company this morning but not quite so happy to be made to go inside.  But he sat on the window bench in the kitchen window and watched us the whole time.  I figured he'd still be able to spot a bear before us from his perch and sound a warning if necessary.  

Hubs is out on a 20 mile bike ride this evening with his biking club so we'll have dinner a little later than usual.  Last night we had an early dinner and watched "Dark Waters" on Netflix.  It was about the lawsuit against Dupont for the whole Teflon mess - an excellent movie that we both enjoyed!  The night before we watched a movie called "Harriett" that was about Harriett Tubman - an inspiring story and a good reminder that we can never forget this country's dark history with slavery.

I haven't made the dark decision yet today but leaning towards something simple.

xo
Debbi