Today I received a parcel containing some items I had ordered from Japan.
A UK company might have just slapped on a 'fragile' notice.
This one had a label with the following message:
So there we have it. To this company their customers are important.
Made my day did that, as well as making me smile broadly.
It's not all over yet as to which will finally nest in the camera nestbox.
The bumblebee continues adjusting the nesting material.
At one stage yesterday there were two of them in there.
Every now and then Mrs GT brings more material.
Early this morning Mr GT arrived with what looks like a bee fly he had caught, presumably as food for Mrs. She arrives and after a short while leaves:
Who will actually raise a brood?
Will the Great Tits remove the bee or will they be scared off?
Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode of 'The Drama of the Nest Box'
Some time around mid-day yesterday the Great Tit nest was invaded.
A bumble bee decided to set up residence:
Soon after that Mrs GT returned with some more nesting material. The bee was hidden but as soon as it was noticed Mrs GT rapidly left the nest. She returned a short while later with more material but saw the bee as soon as she poked her head in and promptly left the nestbox. No roosting last night.
This morning Mrs GT has brought more nesting material. Each time the bee has been out of sight but as soon as she left it started to move the material where it wanted. On her last visit so far Mrs GT once again started to enter the nestbox but left almost immediately.
I did consider trying to remove the bee though it would probably return.
In the end I thought, oh well, it will be a change to see what goes on in a bee's nest.
Very disappointing though as it's the first use of the nestbox for about three years.
Let's hope Mrs GT has the time and energy to start again somewhere else.
What a change in the weather. The temperature topped 20C yesterday and could go higher today.
At least it should dry out the grass so I can get the lawn cut. I did get some new fencing put up to replace the quick bodge job behind the large tree stump. This time with reed screening which blends in better:
It will look better once the wooden parts have weathered a bit.
All being well I should be able to make a start with filling the hanging baskets today.
This was last week's WidsMob Montage modified photo:
Correctly identified as a tree feller / tree surgeon by The Weaver of Grass, Wilma, Ragged Robin and Adrian.
Well done to all.
I wonder how easy, or otherwise, this week's one will be to identify:
Flickr seems to be throwing a bit of a tantrum at the moment but the pictures should show up, eventually. If you think you can identify what I originally photographed then please leave your guess in the comments. They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.
Mrs GT made many visits yesterday and today bringing soft material to line her nest.
Tonight is the first time she has decided to sleep there.
All being well the first egg should be appearing in the not too distant future.
For anyone not able to leave a comment - I spent some time searching to find a possible cause.
All I came up with is it is something which others have found happening from time to time.
It has been going on for some years and only affects a few blogs at any one time.
There doesn't seem to be a solution apart from waiting for things to get back to normal in their own good time.
As the 10 bare root Vibrant strawberry plants I had ordered arrived this morning I had to set about planting them in a couple of troughs for them to grow on in the greenhouse. Working with wet potting compost outdoors was far from pleasant in the cold, misty, damp atmosphere created by the sea fret which covered the area for most of the day:
Added to the plug plants potted and growing on in the conservatory are these Upright Bush Fuchsia 'Hermiana' plants. These are for the top of my hanging baskets:
Yesterday everywhere was soaking wet after yet another night of persistent rain so the Great Tit took a break from nest building. Today she made up for lost time by making about 18 visits:
It looks as though this sea fret will be with us at least for tomorrow morning but all being well we can both look forward to warmer weather from this coming weekend.
For those unfamiliar with sea frets you can read a description on the Met office site HERE.
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