This four-spotted chaser collided with my loopy dog on Dartmoor yesterday. It bounced off her head and into a puddle where it quickly became waterlogged.
I watched it for a while to make sure it went on its way, but it was struggling to break free of the water. I put my hand underneath its body and very slowly lifted it out, taking care not to damage its delicate wings. I won't lie, it did make me a little nervous as it gripped tightly to my hand, but we soon both relaxed into the situation. I think the chaser was grateful for the help and I was most definitely grateful to spend some time watching it clean itself and dry its wings.
It spent a long while on my hand drying in the wind and after ten minutes or so, when it was showing no signs of leaving and my stomach was encouraging me to head home, I carefully transferred it to the safety of some nearby vegetation. Hopefully it recovered and flew away.
I happen to be reading an inspiring book called Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson and these words come to mind…
‘Look at a wild creature - even hold it in your hand - and it is obvious that you do not ‘have’ it. You hold it but everything it is stretches far beyond your enclosing fingers, in time and space and through its own interior existence. You may possess it, even for a moment, but it is not yours.’
