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#1
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Bumble bee
We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom
windows this morning. The day dawned sunny but has clouded over and it's still pretty chilly. However, I did wonder if this poor chap had emerged too soon or whether he's one of the weather prophets. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! About a week ago or whenever we last had a sunny day, honey bees were very busy on the Lonicera purpusii. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#2
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Bumble bee
Sacha wrote:
We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. The day dawned sunny but has clouded over and it's still pretty chilly. However, I did wonder if this poor chap had emerged too soon or whether he's one of the weather prophets. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! delurk If it was particularly large it was probably a queen, looking for a likely nest site. I hope she hasn't got out from under her duvet too soon, poor thing. About a week ago or whenever we last had a sunny day, honey bees were very busy on the Lonicera purpusii. Haven't seen any bees around here yet (just south of Derby) but the miniature daffodils are out in the back garden already and the cabbages have germinated under cloches on my allotment. -- Carol "Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown" - Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club" |
#3
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Bumble bee
Sacha wrote:
We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. The day dawned sunny but has clouded over and it's still pretty chilly. However, I did wonder if this poor chap had emerged too soon or whether he's one of the weather prophets. Bumble bees can come out at any time of year on a sunny day in a sheltered spot. They take the opportunity for a quick snack and go back to sleep with no harm done. Unlike most of the poor frosted flower buds of my Rhododendron. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! I know I will be praying for rain before too long! Regards, Peter |
#4
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Bumble bee
On 24/2/07 17:24, in article , "Carol
Hague" wrote: Sacha wrote: We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. The day dawned sunny but has clouded over and it's still pretty chilly. However, I did wonder if this poor chap had emerged too soon or whether he's one of the weather prophets. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! delurk If it was particularly large it was probably a queen, looking for a likely nest site. That would do it. Yes, she was very large so I'm glad our bedroom window had been shut just before her exploration! She was sort of holding onto the window leads fluttering her wings. I hope she hasn't got out from under her duvet too soon, poor thing. That worries me, too. OTOH, if she has been up in the eaves of the house, I hope she's gone back up there. We've had a day of intermittent rain and very little watery sun though it hasn't been horribly cold, just a bit dreary. About a week ago or whenever we last had a sunny day, honey bees were very busy on the Lonicera purpusii. Haven't seen any bees around here yet (just south of Derby) but the miniature daffodils are out in the back garden already and the cabbages have germinated under cloches on my allotment. Tète a tète aren't out yet though they're not far off but other varieties are blazing away, the snowdrops are still going strong, plenty of Camellias are in flower, so are Mahonias, Hellebores and a variety of other things which seem to me to be overlapping each other much more than usual. The Chaenomeles on the house wall is dripping with flowers. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#5
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Bumble bee
On 24/2/07 17:37, in article ,
"Peter Robinson" wrote: Sacha wrote: We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. The day dawned sunny but has clouded over and it's still pretty chilly. However, I did wonder if this poor chap had emerged too soon or whether he's one of the weather prophets. Bumble bees can come out at any time of year on a sunny day in a sheltered spot. They take the opportunity for a quick snack and go back to sleep with no harm done. Unlike most of the poor frosted flower buds of my Rhododendron. I'm glad to hear that about the bee. I used to keep honey bees, so knew they'd retreat back to their hives but wasn't too sure at all about bumbles. Sorry about the Rhodie, though. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! I know I will be praying for rain before too long! Good grief, where are you?! The water is running off the fields and down the sides of our lanes as if they were stream beds. And yesterday we drove up to Dulverton which is Exmoor way and acres and acres of land are under water. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#6
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Bumble bee
Sacha wrote:
On 24/2/07 17:24, in article , "Carol Hague" wrote: Sacha wrote: We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. snip I hope she hasn't got out from under her duvet too soon, poor thing. That worries me, too. OTOH, if she has been up in the eaves of the house, I hope she's gone back up there. Fingers crossed then :-) I like bumble bees. We've had a day of intermittent rain and very little watery sun though it hasn't been horribly cold, just a bit dreary. Similar here - but it was only the Thursday before last that we had a fair bit of snow and on Wednesday morning there was thunder and lightning so I'm not about to trust the weather much yet. About a week ago or whenever we last had a sunny day, honey bees were very busy on the Lonicera purpusii. Haven't seen any bees around here yet (just south of Derby) but the miniature daffodils are out in the back garden already and the cabbages have germinated under cloches on my allotment. Tète a tète aren't out yet though they're not far off but other varieties are blazing away, the snowdrops are still going strong, plenty of Camellias are in flower, so are Mahonias, Hellebores and a variety of other things which seem to me to be overlapping each other much more than usual. The Chaenomeles on the house wall is dripping with flowers. Sounds lovely. We haven't got an awful lot in the back garden yet - we've only been here about a year and a half. It's pretty small and a lot of it is taken up with a large pond housing three goldfish that the previous owners left behind. Most of the rest is paved, but we've built what amounts to a giant raised bed with a three-brick high retaining wall at the from and two tons of topsoil in it, which we had to carry through the house in buckets as there's no rear access to the garden. That was fun. There's a high brick wall at the back with tall trees behind (the area behind the house is the village cricket club) so it's fairly shady. Last month I was able to take over an allotment (complete with shed) and am gleefully planning my fruit and veg growing thereon. -- Carol "Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown" - Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club" |
#7
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Bumble bee
On 24/2/07 18:59, in article , "Carol
Hague" wrote: Sacha wrote: On 24/2/07 17:24, in article , "Carol Hague" wrote: Sacha wrote: We had a really huge bumble bee blundering against the panes of our bedroom windows this morning. snip I hope she hasn't got out from under her duvet too soon, poor thing. That worries me, too. OTOH, if she has been up in the eaves of the house, I hope she's gone back up there. Fingers crossed then :-) I like bumble bees. So do I. They just seem to go about their business without fussing about anyone else. Honey bees can be tetchy and I think wasps are the bovver boys of the insect world - nowadays that should probably be hoodies! We've had a day of intermittent rain and very little watery sun though it hasn't been horribly cold, just a bit dreary. Similar here - but it was only the Thursday before last that we had a fair bit of snow and on Wednesday morning there was thunder and lightning so I'm not about to trust the weather much yet. Where are you, Carol? I'm sorry if I should remember but my memory on that subject is awful which is why I put in the occasional plea for people to put their general location into their sigfile! About a week ago or whenever we last had a sunny day, honey bees were very busy on the Lonicera purpusii. Haven't seen any bees around here yet (just south of Derby) but the miniature daffodils are out in the back garden already and the cabbages have germinated under cloches on my allotment. Tète a tète aren't out yet though they're not far off but other varieties are blazing away, the snowdrops are still going strong, plenty of Camellias are in flower, so are Mahonias, Hellebores and a variety of other things which seem to me to be overlapping each other much more than usual. The Chaenomeles on the house wall is dripping with flowers. Sounds lovely. Well, it's the balmy, if extremely wet, south west, so conditions are kind on the whole. We don't live on Dartmoor, though we're close to it and it's as if it attracts what bad weather there is cold and snow wise and we are protected from it. We do get some horrible gales here from time to time and there's always a bit of a hollow laugh when somebody says "of course, you're so sheltered here"! We haven't got an awful lot in the back garden yet - we've only been here about a year and a half. It's pretty small and a lot of it is taken up with a large pond housing three goldfish that the previous owners left behind. They sound a bit like me - my motto is that any garden problem can be solved by digging a hole and filling it with water. Since Ray and I married 7 years ago we have two new, fairly large ponds to add to the much older one established in the 50s by a previous owner. My excuse is that I miss being near the sea, so this is a small way of compensating and in the gales we had a few weeks ago we did actually have wavelets on two of the ponds! Most of the rest is paved, but we've built what amounts to a giant raised bed with a three-brick high retaining wall at the from and two tons of topsoil in it, which we had to carry through the house in buckets as there's no rear access to the garden. That was fun. Think of it as 'fit'! There's a high brick wall at the back with tall trees behind (the area behind the house is the village cricket club) so it's fairly shady. Oh, that sounds a really lovely setting - very villagey and friendly - glad it's a *high* brick wall, though. Will you make, perhaps, a fernery there or won't it be damp enough? Last month I was able to take over an allotment (complete with shed) and am gleefully planning my fruit and veg growing thereon. Glutton for punishment. ;-) -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#8
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Bumble bee
Sacha wrote:
On 24/2/07 18:59, in article , "Carol Hague" wrote: Fingers crossed then :-) I like bumble bees. So do I. They just seem to go about their business without fussing about anyone else. Honey bees can be tetchy and I think wasps are the bovver boys of the insect world - nowadays that should probably be hoodies! Yes - I've been stung once by a bee (when I was quite young) and twice by wasps (the first time when I was sitting on a bus, minding me own business!) but never by a bumble bee. We've had a day of intermittent rain and very little watery sun though it hasn't been horribly cold, just a bit dreary. Similar here - but it was only the Thursday before last that we had a fair bit of snow and on Wednesday morning there was thunder and lightning so I'm not about to trust the weather much yet. Where are you, Carol? I'm sorry if I should remember but my memory on that subject is awful which is why I put in the occasional plea for people to put their general location into their sigfile! Sorry - I'm in Melbourne, just south of Derby. My newsreader (which I otherwise love to bits) can only cope with one sig at a time, but I'll try to remember to alter it manually when I post here - I may forget from time to time though, I have a memory like a....wossname....use it to make small bits of earth for the garden...... Sounds lovely. Well, it's the balmy, if extremely wet, south west, so conditions are kind on the whole. We don't live on Dartmoor, though we're close to it and it's as if it attracts what bad weather there is cold and snow wise and we are protected from it. We do get some horrible gales here from time to time and there's always a bit of a hollow laugh when somebody says "of course, you're so sheltered here"! grin We used to live in Bishops Lydeard in Somerset, which was lovely, but when we had thunderstorms they'd go on for hours as they'd get trapped between the three ranges of hills (Quantocks, Bredons and Blackdowns). We haven't got an awful lot in the back garden yet - we've only been here about a year and a half. It's pretty small and a lot of it is taken up with a large pond housing three goldfish that the previous owners left behind. They sound a bit like me - my motto is that any garden problem can be solved by digging a hole and filling it with water. They didn't quite manage that :-) It's a raised pond built of old railway sleepers and lined with butyl. Quite sturdy though. Since Ray and I married 7 years ago we have two new, fairly large ponds to add to the much older one established in the 50s by a previous owner. My excuse is that I miss being near the sea, so this is a small way of compensating and in the gales we had a few weeks ago we did actually have wavelets on two of the ponds! I like ponds, but this one takes up a disproportionate amount of the garden. It's staying though, cos I'm a total softy and couldn't bear to evict the fish and their umpty dozen water snail pals. Most of the rest is paved, but we've built what amounts to a giant raised bed with a three-brick high retaining wall at the from and two tons of topsoil in it, which we had to carry through the house in buckets as there's no rear access to the garden. That was fun. Think of it as 'fit'! :-) There's a high brick wall at the back with tall trees behind (the area behind the house is the village cricket club) so it's fairly shady. Oh, that sounds a really lovely setting - very villagey and friendly - glad it's a *high* brick wall, though. Will you make, perhaps, a fernery there or won't it be damp enough? I imagine the trees are there to protect from stray cricket nballs as much as for pretty. Not had any landing in the pond yet though. Last winter we sat in the lounge and watched the squirrels jumping about in the trees, but they've been hiding so far this year. Still not sure what to plant yet. There's a fair bit of mature ivy coming over the wall, which I don't want to disturb as it's good insect hiding territory. I need to unearth my gardening books from the spare room and look up what plants will like the shde :-) Last month I was able to take over an allotment (complete with shed) and am gleefully planning my fruit and veg growing thereon. Glutton for punishment. ;-) Glutton for sweetcorn :-) And runner beans. And other things there's no room to grow in my teeny garden :-) I thought I was very lucky to get the allotment right away though - I understand many places have quite long waiting lists..... -- Carol (near Derby) "Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown" - Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club" |
#9
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Bumble bee
"Carol Hague" wrote snip Last winter we sat in the lounge and watched the squirrels jumping about in the trees, but they've been hiding so far this year. Still not sure what to plant yet. There's a fair bit of mature ivy coming over the wall, which I don't want to disturb as it's good insect hiding territory. You may also get wrens roosting and nesting in the ivy; they seem to love a good old tangle of mature ivy as a nesting site. I need to unearth my gardening books from the spare room and look up what plants will like the shde :-) Ooh, hellebores. Definitely. Did anyone see CK on Gardeners' World last night? I have argutifolius and foetidus and a smokey plum coloured one with no name, which are all doing well, but I covet that lovely lemon yellow one she was planting. Last month I was able to take over an allotment (complete with shed) and am gleefully planning my fruit and veg growing thereon. Happy allotmenteering. -- Sue |
#10
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Bumble bee
On 24/2/07 21:35, in article , "Carol
Hague" wrote: Sacha wrote: On 24/2/07 18:59, in article , "Carol Hague" wrote: Fingers crossed then :-) I like bumble bees. So do I. They just seem to go about their business without fussing about anyone else. Honey bees can be tetchy and I think wasps are the bovver boys of the insect world - nowadays that should probably be hoodies! Yes - I've been stung once by a bee (when I was quite young) and twice by wasps (the first time when I was sitting on a bus, minding me own business!) but never by a bumble bee. My own honey bees attacked me when someone else was manipulating the hive and I wasn't wearing the proper gear. I received so many stings that from being a bit resistant to them I've gone to 'don't get stung - ever'. But while I do avoid weeding certain flower borders when the bees are really busy, on the whole I find the old thing of 'leave them alone and they'll leave you alone' does work with them. snip Where are you, Carol? I'm sorry if I should remember but my memory on that subject is awful which is why I put in the occasional plea for people to put their general location into their sigfile! Sorry - I'm in Melbourne, just south of Derby. My newsreader (which I otherwise love to bits) can only cope with one sig at a time, but I'll try to remember to alter it manually when I post here - I may forget from time to time though, I have a memory like a....wossname....use it to make small bits of earth for the garden...... My memory comes from the same stock, obviously! It does help to know where people are when it comes to swapping gardening experiences. Friends of ours have just moved to Matlock where his mother came from originally. Now you mention that wossname that made small bits of earth for the garden, I remember my grandfather had one of those. What were they FOR, I now ask myself? To grade soil? To add compost and soil together? And do you *ever* see anyone use one now? No, IME. I'm assuming that back in those days before proprietary compost, they were used to make ordinary garden soil very fine for the growing of seeds and seedlings. Sounds lovely. snip grin We used to live in Bishops Lydeard in Somerset, which was lovely, but when we had thunderstorms they'd go on for hours as they'd get trapped between the three ranges of hills (Quantocks, Bredons and Blackdowns). Practically an ex-neighbour, then! We haven't got an awful lot in the back garden yet - we've only been here about a year and a half. It's pretty small and a lot of it is taken up with a large pond housing three goldfish that the previous owners left behind. They sound a bit like me - my motto is that any garden problem can be solved by digging a hole and filling it with water. They didn't quite manage that :-) It's a raised pond built of old railway sleepers and lined with butyl. Quite sturdy though. snip I like ponds, but this one takes up a disproportionate amount of the garden. It's staying though, cos I'm a total softy and couldn't bear to evict the fish and their umpty dozen water snail pals. Could you/would you alter the size of the pond, though? snip There's a high brick wall at the back with tall trees behind (the area behind the house is the village cricket club) so it's fairly shady. Oh, that sounds a really lovely setting - very villagey and friendly - glad it's a *high* brick wall, though. Will you make, perhaps, a fernery there or won't it be damp enough? I imagine the trees are there to protect from stray cricket nballs as much as for pretty. Not had any landing in the pond yet though. I think those trees are a good idea! Last time I watched a cricket match the ball landed, very hard, on the bonnet of someone's rather expensive car. Not a popular shot.... Last winter we sat in the lounge and watched the squirrels jumping about in the trees, but they've been hiding so far this year. Still not sure what to plant yet. There's a fair bit of mature ivy coming over the wall, which I don't want to disturb as it's good insect hiding territory. I need to unearth my gardening books from the spare room and look up what plants will like the shde :-) People often want to get rid of ivy but we have lots of its around this house and garden and birds and insects really do benefit from it. Last month I was able to take over an allotment (complete with shed) and am gleefully planning my fruit and veg growing thereon. Glutton for punishment. ;-) Glutton for sweetcorn :-) And runner beans. And other things there's no room to grow in my teeny garden :-) I thought I was very lucky to get the allotment right away though - I understand many places have quite long waiting lists..... And, from reading allotment holders here, they are disappearing fast, too, in some areas? -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#11
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Bumble bee
On 24/2/07 22:54, in article
, "Sue" wrote: "Carol Hague" wrote snip Last winter we sat in the lounge and watched the squirrels jumping about in the trees, but they've been hiding so far this year. Still not sure what to plant yet. There's a fair bit of mature ivy coming over the wall, which I don't want to disturb as it's good insect hiding territory. You may also get wrens roosting and nesting in the ivy; they seem to love a good old tangle of mature ivy as a nesting site. I need to unearth my gardening books from the spare room and look up what plants will like the shde :-) Ooh, hellebores. Definitely. Did anyone see CK on Gardeners' World last night? Yes and weren't they mouth watering? I just wish they weren't so promiscuous! snip -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#12
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Bumble bee
"Sacha" wrote: snip My own honey bees attacked me when someone else was manipulating the hive and I wasn't wearing the proper gear. I received so many stings that from being a bit resistant to them I've gone to 'don't get stung - ever'. ----- I well remember a rambling holiday when I was viciously attacked by honey bees. A bee keeping member of the group told me that bees can't stand the colour blue, I was wearing a blue, short sleeved shirt at the time. He said that no experienced apiarist would ever dream of wearing anything blue, the very sight turns them into flying furies. The same applies to wasps. You have been warned! MikeCT |
#13
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Bumble bee
"MikeCT" wrote: snip ... that no experienced apiarist would ever dream of wearing anything blue, the very sight turns them into flying furies. The same applies to wasps. --- And honey bees. Smacked wrist! Next time I'll re-re-read any posting I send. MikeCT |
#14
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Bumble bee
On 25/2/07 10:23, in article ,
"MikeCT" wrote: "MikeCT" wrote: snip ... that no experienced apiarist would ever dream of wearing anything blue, the very sight turns them into flying furies. The same applies to wasps. --- And honey bees. Smacked wrist! Next time I'll re-re-read any posting I send. I was taught that about blue, too. But in my case, the honey had been extracted a couple of weeks before and the Apisan (sp?)strips were being put in, so they were in a bad temper anyway! One got into my hair and instead of doing the sensible thing and swatting it, I tried to extract it and got stung. That immediately sent the battle pheromones to the colony and they were after me, literally chasing me down the garden and into the house. My son quick-wittedly shoved me into the shower, fully dressed but by then I'd had several stings, mostly around my head and face and next day I looked as if I'd gone 6 rounds with Mike Tyson. I could open one eye the merest fraction only and even after treatment, it was three days before I dared leave the house! -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/ (remove weeds from address) |
#15
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Bumble bee
Sacha wrote:
Sorry about the Rhodie, though. It's still got a few flower buds, so there will be some at the proper time, but at least two thirds were too eager and got frosted off. I hope it's the latter, because I don't see how we can get one more millilitre of rain onto the land! I know I will be praying for rain before too long! Good grief, where are you?! The water is running off the fields and down the sides of our lanes as if they were stream beds. And yesterday we drove up to Dulverton which is Exmoor way and acres and acres of land are under water. Sounds pretty dramatic! There's plenty of wetness around here (Herts) too this weekend and half my back lawn has decided it would rather be a pond for a few days. But it is the first time since January that it's stopped me getting out at the weekend, so I can't complain too much. I was thinking of May rather than next week when I said 'too long'. Peter |
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