Silent Sunday – 27th March 2022
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Tag Archives: bees
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #190: Close and Closer
This week Patti reminds us of the Robert Capa quote – “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” I have delved back into last summer archives to find some examples.
Bees always look better up close.
As do butterflies.
Silent Sunday – 6th March 2022
Lens-Artists Challenge #178 – You Choose
So this week Tina’ let us choose our own theme. I am, perhaps unsurprisingly, going for some glorious bees to remind us of last summer and to help us look forward to next year. They are mostly bumblebees but I had to include the beautiful solitary mining bee too.
Lens-Artists Challenge #176- One Image/One Story
As Ann-Christine says there are so many stories to capture. So where does one start?
Bees tell us so many stories. They tell us how important flowers are. They tell us that we are all connected in life. They tell us we should forage near home when looking for food. They tell us enjoy life, at least while the sun is shining. Perhaps we need to listen to them more closely.
Without flower meadows there will be no bees, without bees there will be no flowers meadows. It is another story. A short one.
Silent Sunday
Male garden bumblebee on knapweed
Six on Saturday – 3rd July 2021
Thanks to The Propagator for hosting Six on Saturday. Hard to believe it is July already. The delphiniums are now at their best.
Delphiniums
This rose grews in our hedge……………..
Rose
Along with native honeysuckle which is flowering really well this year and being enjoyed by the bees.
Honey suckle
I generally prefer pink foxgloves but I do like the markings on this white one.
Foxglove
The lavender is also being enjoyed by the bees in this case an early bumblebee male.
Early Bumblebee male
And finally this week – a newish arrival – little chick “Dream” with his mum “Miranda”.
Chick 
Chick and Mum
World Bee Day – 20th May 2020
Today is International World Bee Day. Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that one of my pasttimes is watching bees, recording them and planting food for them.
One of the best plants for bees is comfrey. It has a long flowering season which provides food throughout the spring and summer.
Carder bee on comfrey
Blossom, such as apple or cherry blossom, is another great food source.
Early bumblebee on chokeberry blossom 
White tailed bumblebee on apple blossom
Herbs (e.g. sage, oregano, thyme) are also great for bees.
Garden bumblebee on sage
Vegetables often rely on bees for pollination, including runner beans, courgettes and many others. Allowing brassicas to flower can also provide food for bees.
Common carder bee on flowering kale
Wild native flowers are also important for bees too. So having some in your garden is a great asset.
Garden bumblebee on Red campion
Lens artist photo challenge #58
This week’s lens artist photo challenge is –
Something old, something new, something borrow, something blue
Today we were introduced to some beautiful and very old elm trees. Many elms in Ireland were lost to Dutch elm disease but this is one of a few magnificent specimens that survived.
Elm tree
I haven’t yet introduced you to our new arrivals – they are just over a week old now, seven little chicks!
Chicks
Chicks
We have borrowed some much from nature including honey bees. All bees were originally wild bees, Apis melifera, but thousands of years ago humans thought it would be a good idea to provide bees with hives so we could steal their honey! This is an interesting article about the history of honey bees.
Honey bee
And finally something blue. Regular readers may remember a few weeks I showed you the Common blue butterfly – I managed to get a photo today of it’s wings open. This is a female not quite as blue as the male, but still very pretty, even if a little weather-worn.
Common Blue
Six on Saturday favourites
This week I am combining my Six on Saturday with some of my favourite things.
The wildflower meadow is just coming into it’s own. One of my favourites parts of the garden.
I did say in a comment that I would post some of my yellow alliums this week. I just love flowers.
And these alliums are one of my favourites, they remind me of fireworks going off.
And of course I cannot post about my favourite things without including a photo of a bumblebee……………
And growing my own food is another love – broad beans with another bee!
And this year I am loving vetch, because there seems to be so much of it and the bees are loving it too.
Murtagh's Meadow 