Googl(e)y

Today is the first day of 30 Days Wild organised by The Wildlife Trusts. I have been looking forward to hunting for wild things, photographing them and putting them on Twitter. When I looked at the computer this morning the Google Doodle provided me with a theme for the day. It is an interactive game of cricket to celebrate the ICC Champions Trophy. The batsman is a cricket and the bowler, fielders and spectators are snails. I was no match for the online snaily bowler but scored lots of shots of Roesel's bush cricket nymphs and snails.

Today's poem is from In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. http://www.potw.org/archive/potw23a.html

A.H.H of the title is Tennyson's friend Arthur Hallam. He was engaged to Tennyson's sister and died suddenly. Both siblings were deeply affected. Nearly twenty years afterwards when Tennyson's son was born he was named Hallam. People say, "I have no words" when they feel extreme grief. In the poem Tennyson is apologising for articulating his feelings. Sometimes poetry can help to assuage grief.