On Thistles and Bees on Thistles (May 2020)
Nectar
The thistle bobs and sways in the early evening breeze. The flowerhead sits precarious and regal atop the long stem, protected by an array of prickles but still delicate in itself. It is a purple explosion, bursting from the cup riotously, the whole plant quite beautiful.
The bee working its way around the flower doesn’t care for aesthetics, concerned only with the nectar found here in abundance. It draws each drop greedily and methodically through its proboscis to its stomach, to be passed to other members of the colony, keeping the hive alive. There is a beauty in this also. Another piece of somewhat lacklustre descriptive writing that I like despite itself. Bees join cormorants in the "bloody amazing" camp.