LT has been away at his place all week, but arrived home today. And the new chickens seem happy – that is, they’re crooning relaxedly and they’re eating and at least one of them has tried out a nest box – and Rose and I lit the bonfire, which hasn’t been possible for months because it was too wet and/or windy, so the remains of her rather rotten shed, a load of chopped off stuff from the autumn and various cardboard things that wouldn’t fit in the wheelie bins have gone. It was mild enough that insects were flying about, so I don’t think there was anything hiding. I did look and didn’t see anything.
There are a surprising amount of midges about already. Great clouds of them, as soon as it wasn’t actually freezing. Good for the birds, I suppose, they’ll have plenty to eat.
Pugsley still isn’t strong enough for a day at school – that is, if he managed one, he’d probably not cope with the next day at all. So tomorrow, my friends Bex and Dave are bringing my ex-dog over, now their dog, just for a visit and a cuddle, then I’ll go and fetch Pugsley from school again. And then, I have it in mind to spend the weekend mostly cuddling LT, because I’ve missed him very much.
There were bees (bumble- and honey- sorts) in the Reading garden on Wednesday.
Rose had a bumble bee in her porch the other day. No honey bees yet, though.
Honey bees won’t fly below 13 degrees C, unless they are desperate (which they are at present – so I’ve seen some out at 10 degrees C). Bumble bees will fly from around 4 or 5 degrees C.
The bumble bees around at present are all last year’s queens, who have over-wintered and are looking for a new nest site for this year. If you see one inside, they are likely to be cold and hungry. They would love to be fed a tiny bit of honey, with an equal amount of water dropped onto it, before being taken outside into a sunny spot.