Prolific Primroses

The primroses in the hedgerow bank near our house are flowering in prolific profusion.

Primroses

There are always primroses here. The dappled shade from the hawthorn trees is just the kind of habitat they thrive in. The primroses are one of the few spring flowers that got off to an early start this year, despite our cold spring. So it may be that the surrounding grass isn’t as high as it would normally be.

So the flowers can be seen in all their gorgeous glory. I only wish I could share with you the beautiful, rich scent they were exuding as I took photographs of them this evening.

Primroses

Primroses

 

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Shelly Sunday

 

Sea shells on the sea shore

Awakening

Bumblebee queens are waking up for the spring. Everything is late this year, as it had been a cold spring, so it’s good to see the bees emerging.

Early bumblebee

You will notice this lady has some passengers. These phoretic mites (Parasitellus) do not harm the bee. They will fall off when she sets up a nest and will act as nest cleaners.

Carder queen

Early Bumblebee queen

Via this week’s photo challenge – Awakening

Silent Sunday

 

Tyre on beach 

Yellow – Monthly Meet Up Photo Challenge

Yellow is this month’s photo challenge from Wild Daffodil. At this time of year dandelions should be everywhere, but the cold spring means they are only just coming. Dandelions are a great source of pollen for bumblebees. So if your lawn is awash with yellow, think twice before you cut it.

Dandelions

Allow the dandelions to flower and you will be providing bees with an important food source.

Bumblebee on dandelion

Ross Beach

Ross Beach is one of our favoutite beaches at any time of year. With Easter falling early this year, we have had opportunity to take a few day trips. Heading to the beach is always a bit of an adventure. This time we were surprised to find that the storms over the winter have shifted sand away from the beach. This has resulted in the loss of some dunes, but also the exposure of a more pebbles and stones in one area.

Ross beach,  Country Mayo 

There was time for some beach-combing and even castle building.

CAstle

Shells

The horses and their riders were also enjoying the freedom of a long beach. Like us, the horses had a paddle,  they did not seem to notice that the water was FREEZING!

 

Important EU Public Consultation on Pollinators

Following on from my bumblebee post yesterday, here is an important pubic consultation on an EU Pollinator Initiative. The consultation is open to anyone living in Europe, you don’t have to be an expert. If you have any interest in pollinators I urge you to fill out the questionnaire. It only takes about ten minutes, and you have till the 5th of April to complete.

The survey can be accessed by clicking here.

And more information bout the initiative can be found here.

Bumblebee