May 18th – Riding home along a damp canal on a grey evening commute, I noticed the apple blossom is really, really profuse this year. This crab apple tree near the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood is absolutely beautiful – and the scent is wonderful.
With decent weather in the last few days, hopefully pollination will be good. Certainly plenty of bees about, even on their grey, chilly evening.
June 24th – And by the canal in Leamore, just near Pratts Mill Bridge, a clump of purple vetch was proving irresistible to the bees, who buzzed around it with an air of frantic, but random purpose.
The vetch, like many other flowers is profuse this year. I hope the bees prosper from it. They need our support…
July 2nd – The honeysuckle at the roadside by the Black Cock Bridge I pointed out a couple of weeks ago is now breaking into full bloom. It smells heavenly, and looks gorgeous in that dishevelled, almost threadbare way that only honeysuckle can. Despite the steady rain and grey skies, bees were busy in the flowers, and the bush hummed busily.
July 20th – Summer arrived. I went to Aldridge to get some documents scanned, and I travelled up the canal. If you’ve not been lately, take advantage of the good weather, and stroll up the towpath. The wildflowers – already magnificent this year – are now in top gear. Beautiful. Celandines, brambles, orchids, vetches, worts and many I can’t identify. All there, just trying to get noticed; and accompanying it all, the buzz of honeybees stirred by the warmth of the sun.
At last, I am in England, in the summertime. Bliss.
June 22nd – The flowers continue. With the wet weather, I’m concerned about the lack of pollinating insects. On a grey Friday afternoon, I cycled the towpath from Walsall Wood to Brownhills. Near Clayhanger Bridge, overlooking the marsh at the rear of the big house is the most amazing thicket of honeysuckle, lupins, elder and brambles. Mixed in are cornflowers, like this lovely example. Happily, the bees seem to be gradually getting out and about. Lets have some summer soon, eh?
April 20th – Mashing up Shire Oak hill at Sandhills, my gaze was snagged by this interesting sight just through the copse at the side of Lane’s Farm fields: a fair quantity of beehives. I’ve never noticed these before. I do hope they’ll see some use this year. There aren’t nearly enough bees kept in this country, and with the twin perils of Veroa and Colony Collapse Disorder ravaging the bee population, they need all the help they can get. Without the bees, we’re stuffed. And I love honey…
July 20th – The rosebay willow herb – old man’s beard – has been coming out for a couple of weeks now. This tall, viciously purple plant occupies urban waste grounds, rural set-asides, hedgerows and lay-bys, and fruits to a hairy, airborne seed that we all know. This fine summer flower- often dismissed as a mere weed – is a veritable bee magnet and I counted at least seven species on this small clump near Ive House Farm in Lower Stonnall. As fine a summer feature as you’re likely to find.
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