Here in Ireland, we find ourselves in lockdown again. So we have to stay within 5km of our homes. So for this week’s lens artist challenge it was a case of heading back over the year’s photos and seeing what types of treats there were.
Seeing and being able to photograph wildlife is always a treat for me.
So our wash-out summer continues here in the west of Ireland. I would cope with the rain if we just had a little bit more sun! But still the garden grows.
2. Next, another vegetable plot flower is Calendula. These are ones my daughter set from saved seed.
3. Some broccoli ready to harvest, not the biggest heads but hopefully we will get some side shots too.
4. A meadow brown butterfly. The netting is not to keep these butterflies out (they lay their eggs on grasses) but their cousins, the White butterflies.
5. We have had the first ripe tomatoes from the greenhouse.
6. And finally this week some sweet pea. Only just coming into flower.
Spring is my favourite time of year. Everything is returning to life. Daffodils bring sunshine to the garden.
As do dandelions and with them come the bees, bringing back the buzz of insects.
There are leaves starting to come on the trees and the birds are thinking of nesting and bringing with them songs.
The frogs return to the pond, and their chorus adds to the sounds of spring .
And my favourite wild flowers – primroses, bringing with them their delicate scent.
Spring brings so much to our lives and above all is hope and renewal.
As we head toward the longest day of the year things seem extra busy in the garden.
First this week the appropriately named green shield bug, here a pair mating on the red currants.
2. It is a while since I posted a photo of a bumblebee. Here a garden bumblebee enjoying the delphinium.
3. The day lily seemed to take ages to open but they are finally here.
4. It is pretty windy again today which I hope won’t affect the mange tout which are
doing nicely but not quite flowering yet.
5. Common spotted orchids in the wildflower meadow.
6. You may remember the red and yellow Aquilegia, well they have joined with the white ones. They are giving a great display of colour.
Some of our wild pollinators are back. We have been seeing the odd bumblebee flying over the last few days but today was a lovely sunny day and I actually got some photos. Nothing stops the spring.
We have had a couple of frosts the last two night, and there is a noticeable drop in temperatures even during the day.
2. Despite the fact that most of the flowers are gone I saw a common carder bumblebee today and it was still collecting pollen, suggesting it was still feeding young – maybe it was just an optimistic bee.
3. In the vegetable garden we are getting a couple of romanesco maturing.
Romanesco
4. A poor frosted cosmos.
Frosted cosmos
5. I love these big leaves of the mulberry tree.
Mulberry leaf
6. So few apples this year but there are a few bramblys on a potted tree that will have to be planted out in the next couple of months.
Brambly apple
Thank you to The Propagator for hosting – six on Saturday
As it is coming to the end of pollinator season for 2019, it seemed an appropriate time to have a celebration of all the magic off pollinators and the work they do.
Peacock
Butterflies and moths are only incidental pollinators, it is the bees and hoverflies that visit the flowers for both nectar and pollen.
White tailed bumblebee
Here are some more magical pollinators.
One of my favourite things to do to relax is go somewhere with with my camera, and see what wildlife I can find. Here are some of my favourites from the summer.
Pyramid Orchid – it seems to have been a good year for these beautiful orchids.
Dark-green fritillary butterful likes flower rich coastal habitats which is exactly where I spotted this beauty, near Ross in Co Mayo.
Also at the coast but this time at Cross beach in Belmullet this amazing see-through and pink jellyfish. Haven’t identified this one yet so open to suggestions.
Something else I haven’t identified yet is this (wet) hairy caterpillar!
Of course I have to add a bumblebee (white tailed) – this one feeding on ragworth, hence all the yellow pollen on it’s body.
Inspired by this week Lens-Artist Photo Challenge – taking a break
Garden bumblebee on delphinium
Wild bumblebees – as regular readers will know, are one of my favourite subjects. We are now in our second week of rain (and yes I know some of you are looking for it), but how do the bees cope. They just wait for a break in the showers. Not that there were many today.
Common carder bee
Some clever bees feed on the flowers in the greenhouse and polytunnel. But yesterday when I was in there during a heavy down pour I noticed the buzzing stopped. I couldn’t see the bees so think they’d gone back to their nests. Outside they wait for the brief glimpses of sun. The lupins are popular with many of the bees (here just white tailed).
While the larger Garden bumblebees seem to like the delphiniums, even those that have fallen over in the wind and rain.
The garden bumblebees also use the blue iris.
I have only seen the carder bee on the lavender (and some butterflies too). Both the carders and garden bumbles bees will still fly in light rain, I suppose they have to, otherwise they will starve. It is important to have lots of variety of flowers in your garden, that way you will attract lots of different bees, and other pollinators.
Inspired by Lens Artist Photo Challenge #48 – Wild
