THE VANISHING OF THE BEES The alarm disturbs my slumbers at first light and I lie there in half-conscious limbo for half an hour or more, pausing the phone each time it rings to urge me on. Outside, birds are welcoming the new morning in their remarkable, dawn-chorus way. Woodpigeons’ lazy snooze breezes in through [...]
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Posts Tagged ‘bumblebee’
DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman THE VANISHING OF THE BEES
Friday, May 7th, 201031 August 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman COUNTING APPLES, A VIEW FROM CHERRY ORCHARD TO GUY’S MARSH AND LITTLE LONDON
Monday, August 31st, 200931 August 2009 COUNTING APPLES I managed to get out the house for gardening shortly after 2pm. It was lovely. The swirling 36-hour mist had gone on and been replaced by brilliant late-August sunshine. The weather grumblers should be pleased, although there remains a decent breeze. I’m sat beneath St James Hanging, a precipitous slope [...]
Read More »8 August 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman ON BRUSSELS SPROUTS BUTTERFLIES & WASPS, SATURDAY AFTERNOON 2.13
Saturday, August 8th, 20098 August 2009 ON BRUSSELS SPROUTS BUTTERFLIES & WASPS I frequently write about why wasps should be tolerated. The good they do in a veg patch controlling caterpillars is often overlooked or not fully appreciated. I’ve also written about how, around now, breeding nests disperse and once flesh-hungry jaspers become excited by sugary things like [...]
Read More »6 July 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman BABY BIRDS, MAGIC BEES
Monday, July 6th, 20096 July 2009 BABY BIRDS It’s always a pleasure to spot little house martin baby faces peering out from their nest boxes under the eaves of cottages on our street. This is the time of year when chicks are filling up that little cup-shaped space and parents often simply alight on the outside edge to [...]
Read More »4 June 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman A WORM IN THE LETTUCE
Thursday, June 4th, 20094 June 2009 A WORM IN THE LETTUCE Tom Thumb lettuces are ace. They develop soft heads that fit into the palm of your hand. Aside from being ideal in a small garden and deliciously tasty in a sandwich or with dressing to boot, they are pretty straightforward to grow. I started mine on 5 [...]
Read More »3 June 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman TIME ON MY SIDE, PUTTING UP A HOUSE MARTIN NEST
Wednesday, June 3rd, 20093 June 2009 TIME ON MY SIDE Owls don’t understand what urges drag a lark at dawn from bed. Thus, Mrs Nails turns over as I throw back the cover. Left leg over the edge, then right, and roll to a seated posture. In my thirties it was easy, even with a long day of [...]
Read More »17 May 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman POSSIBLE BEES NEST BEHIND THE BACK WALL, GREAT LANE AT 17.05
Sunday, May 17th, 200917 May 2009 POSSIBLE BEES NEST BEHIND THE BACK WALL Just beyond the back garden wall I think I’ve discovered a bumblebees nest. It was pure happenchance. I’d climbed up to cut down an elder branch which was knocking the greenhouse roof. Job done, I laid the brash where it fell and popped back over. [...]
Read More »14 May 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman HOUSE MARTINS ARE BACK!, WALKING OUT ON PARK WALK
Thursday, May 14th, 200914 May 2009 HOUSE MARTINS ARE BACK! I witnessed quite a duel above the allotments this morning. Being down there for an hour getting seasonal tasks done, I glanced up from cutting comfrey at a commotion in the sky. A buzzard, thick-set and rounded like an overblown moth, flapped and spiralled in tandem with an [...]
Read More »2 March 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman CROCUSES & CATS
Monday, March 2nd, 20092 March 2009 CROCUSES & CATS A quite unbelievably lovely morning. Mild, soft breeze, air full of birds chatter and laughing toddlers in the garden next door but one. Merry clumps of crocuses purple, white, yellow, mauve, tricolour also, open all and reaching for the sun. Grateful early bumblebees appreciate the crocus for its nectar. [...]
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