As I was preparing the food for a late New Years Day lunch to share with Christopher and Olivia, I noticed a dragonfly caught in the web of a spider just outside the kitchen window. I continued the preparations but after they had left to return home, my mind went back to the poor dragonfly, so I went back to investigate. Upon close inspection there appeared to be a little movement, so found a thin bamboo skewer and very gently removed the delicate creature from the holds of the web!
Once removed, I, with unusually steady hands, worked to try and remove as much of the web as I could – I was so afraid that I would hurt or damage the delicate creature! Eventually, hoping that I had done enough to give it a chance of survival, I took it to the lemon scented geranium just outside the back porch, and placed it on a little cluster of leaves.
I returned several times and make sure it was OK, but it appeared that it could not move from where I had placed it!
Carefully I removed the tiny creature from the leaves and brought it back inside, where upon closer inspection there appeared to be tiny pieces of web still attached, and the web was acting like glue!
Finally, with patience, a careful hand, and time, the lace like wings started moving with much more freedom, and its fragile legs no longer appeared to stick to anything.
With hope I moved the tiny creature to a windowsill, and with great delight, I watched as it flew away.
With its delicate wings spread, the tiny creature is free to fly away.
This morning I asked, was it a dragonfly, so a little research, and I think maybe it is a damselfly rather than a dragonfly.
Until next time…
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Lovely story, I have found that with age we tend to feel sorry for every living creature around us, to the point, that we prefer to throw even pest insects outside, instead of killing them. We also get quite nervous when our blue tongue lizards do not appear for several days, sunbathing on the lawn.
Thank you so much. Yes, you are correct, and were worried when the blue tongue lizard that sun bathed under the protection of a mesh covered drain, that is until we cleaned the drain of all the debris. We were worried about it until it frightened the life out of me when I went in search of empty pots behind the shed!
There are exceptions to the concern for some creatures though, being the snails, slugs and harlequin bugs in my garden!
Completely agree, we are better off with lizards as snails and slugs are under control now.
Lovely story for the New Year. Make the New Year bring you many opportunities to smile.
Thank you Bernadette, a lovely thought, and I hope the New Year rewards you similarly.
My dad used to have a huntsman spider that lived in his kitchen for a couple of years… no one was allowed to hurt poor Fred in any way
Reminds me of the day I spent quite a considerable amount of time watching a redback spider dragging a harlequin bug into a gap in the paling fence. When I told people about it, they immediately asked if I had killed the spider! I think they may have been a little shocked when I answered no!