A sunny blue sky start to the second day of July, 15C at 8:20. Bath is starting to wake up, I can hear the chug of cars in the background. More immediately my neighour is whistling a random tune and admonishing the dog in between times.
Above my head the buzz of bumble bees is loud, working the Genista aetnensis which is in full golden glory. Closer to the ground a bee is frantically tumbling amongst the cream stamens of one of the last fragile flowers of Papaver spicatum. Year after year it comes up in solitary splendour in a patch of gravel. The pale pinky orange flowers are quite hard to place colourwise. Continue reading “Bees a buzzin’”