Felt the wish upon her tongue to fly

[sovay]

This afternoon for the first time in decades, I was stung by a bee. Unlike its summer's coreligionist, it caught in my hair without a telltale buzz, so that I put up my hand to comb out a trapped leaf or twig and received instead a stinger in the pad of my thumb. I was able to pluck it out within surprised seconds since it stood out as clearly as a splinter, but I felt terrible about the bee. The pain had started to ebb by the time I got back to the house, but I took the second half of my walk with my thumb in a baking soda plaster. I was reassured by the sight of other bees in bushes of lavender and sunflowers.

In better news of the insect kingdom, the last two monarchs hatched in the late afternoon and were released by my niece, eagerly fluttering their stained glass wings to the sun.

Comments

[genarti]

I was stung by a bee the other week, also for the first time in decades! Or possibly a wasp? I was walking under trees at night; I felt something land on my neck, an insect or a bit of bark or something, and reflexively reached up to brush it off; a sharp hot pain stung the pad of my ring finger, and I equally reflexively flung the bug away, so I couldn't say anything about its identity for sure.

It had been so long I actually had to google "what does a bee sting feel like" on my phone as confirmation. But ibuprofen and ice worked wonders; the pain was fading fairly rapidly and completely gone by morning. I hope it was a wasp and not a bee for its own sake, though. I don't think either of us wanted events to go down as they did!

Also: congrats to your niece (and all her adult helpers) on her successful monarch husbandry! That picture is gorgeous.

[sovay]

I hope it was a wasp and not a bee for its own sake, though. I don't think either of us wanted events to go down as they did!

Agreed! I'm glad it was not a serious event for you, although I begin to feel that brushing things off oneself in summer is more hazardous than I thought.

Also: congrats to your niece (and all her adult helpers) on her successful monarch husbandry! That picture is gorgeous.

Thank you!