That Virus and Other Bugs

Yesterday I had to nip to my local medical practice to collect my monthly medication. They were taking precautions against spreading the dreaded lurgy. We had to queue outside. They had even put out cones every 2m to keep people an appropriate distance apart. I had arrived early so was first in the queue. A young man, complete with gloves and face mask, asked me my name and address, went inside, collected the tablets and brought them out to me.

More interesting bugs were these woodlice (pill bugs) I found (no sound)



Do you see what I spotted on our daily walkabout?



A shield bug



Most probably a Hawthorn Shield Bug.

Minibeasts and a new Planter

It was time to replace an old wooden planter which has stood next to the pond for more than a decade. The wood was beginning to rot but what to replace it with? I had had my eye on a wishing well planter for a while and finally got round to ordering one. It arrived by courier on Saturday morning so I set about assembling it. I had wondered just how much assembly would be needed but there were only 15 parts and sections which needed screwing and bolting together as some sections we pre-assembled. In a bit less than an hour there it was ready to put in place:



Then came the task of dismantling the old planter and finding some wood to make a shallow stand to raise it up a bit. That was when I found the minibeasts sheltering under rotting wood:



Among the dozens of woodlice was a rather splendid beetle:





Seeing how the wishing well would look in its chosen spot next to the pond:



At home on its shallow stand which has spaces underneath for frogs and newts to shelter:



Now all I have to do is buy some more compost and a few plants to finish it off.

To finish off here, here is some hand held video of the minibeasts:



All in all a satisfactory day with afternoon Sunshine and the temperature reaching 16C. I ended up wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt as it was really warm working where I was sheltered from any cooling breeze.