I rescued a Bumble bee from drowning! I scooped him out of a trug of water and held him in my hand, in the sun, till he started to move. Then I gave him some of our local Exmoor honey. He started scoffing straight away! He's almost dry now & fuelled up ready to fly away!
Even in his bee-draggled state he was beautiful. It felt amazing having him crawl on my hand. I've never been stung by anything before (not including cleg bites!), so it doesn't worry me holding a bee. I know as long as I'm calm, gentle & my movements are slow it's very unlikely I'll get stung.
**UPDATE**
The bumble bee has flown away & some opportunistic honey bees are helping themselves to the Exmoor honey I left out! I caught these two, tongues out, lapping it up!
Our meadow is amazing at the moment. The grasses have gone a crazy pink & red hue! No idea what variety of grass this is or why it's this colour! If anyone knows I'd love to learn.
This is another pic of a meadow brown butterfly. It's different to the one I posted on here the other day. You can see clearly the crazy circular markings on the underside of the wings. So pretty.
Well, the ducklings are coming on strong, growing at least an inch a day! Believe me I know, I've been measuring them *blush*! I had to share this picture as they were both using their stumpy, un-developed, wings to rest their beaks under! Sweeeet :)
My gorgeous friend Lizzie came to stay with me for a few days. It was very restful & we explored Watersmeet. It was a stunning day & the woods were looking amazing. I ate too many bilberrys on the path & spent the evening.. well.. I'll leave it at that... ahem..
:)
hen xx
I still think you're brave holding a bee in your hands, it must have sensed how caring you are :o)xx
ReplyDelete:) I reckon it was too beedraggled to think about stinging anybody!
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This is a beautiful post Hen , your bee pics are stunning and almost as good as my 'Spot the Bee' efforts : D I loved seeing the bees tongue out ! I saw a bee with it's tongue out (close up) for first time this summer and I was fascinated - so long !! I'd never looked properly before as I am a bit of a wuss and fret about getting stung lol - not so much bees but I struggle with wasps tbh. I should try and adopt your approach, much better ! Not sure what the grass is either , but love wild grass , would love to know more about it too, so do let me know if you hear of any good sites ! from In a Welsh Garden http://magicgardencymru.wordpress.com - can't post again - my fault , doing something wrong but not sure what lol : )
ReplyDeleteI'm no grass expert, but that grass looks a bit like Yorkshire fog. It's the nice soft feathery grass. It does have a natural pink tinge.
ReplyDeleteMost grasses lose their greenness after seeds have been produced. The chlorophyll, which makes them green, gets broken down and the energy is returned to the roots, for next season. Perhaps that photo was also taken in evening light, which makes everything look redder.
Nice bee close-ups. The one sitting down looks almost human.
If you like taking bee photos, flying bees, just about to land on a flower, are the fashion on gardening blogs.
Well done you! many of us forget that even the smallest insect is worthy of our compassion! To harm any living being, is really, to harm oneself.
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing photographer too Hen.
One thing I regret about living where I do, is that we don't have a stream nearby. Water is my lifeblood!
Om Mani Padme Hum
Love John x
Sweetness! I had my own bee saving experience this spring. I love your photos!
ReplyDeleteI really love your photos. Amazing beauty.
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