and so life goes on

We weren't the only ones to go blackberrying today. Strangely quiet without Max to fret about.

the spirit of Max

After a long and slow decline, and a rapid turn for the worse this last few days, Max was put quietly to sleep today.

He was 15 and a bit. He loved being chased by other dogs but often couldn't find anyone to chase him so took up endlessly exploring the garden around the house. He hated water, men with flat hats, and any mention of any part of his anatomy. He was epileptic and needed treatment throughout his life. He wanted to learn but was incapable of instruction. So, having lived all his life here he has been buried next to a new walnut tree along side his best canine mates Cassie and Sophie.

Farewell, old friend.

flower by Harriet Edwards

nectar robbing

Evidence of bumblebee theft, the lower part of the petal tube of garden phlox has been stripped  away allowing easy access to the nectar.

garden flocks

While I watched a sparrowhawk being mobbed by martins today as it hovered over the garden looking for sparrows, and a humming bird moth on the garden phlox something else caught my eye. Large bumblebees kept on disappearing into the heads of garden phlox (see top photo). On closer inspection it transpired that the bees were feeding from the base of the flower, between sepal and petal tube (see lower photo) rather than from the flower heads themselves. Is this common? I haven't found a reference to this behaviour on some brief internet searches. It would seem to negate the normal method of pollination.

PS I have found a reference now to this behaviour, it is called nectar robbing (see link). The reason it did not come up at first is that this site does not mention phlox. Looking at the flower one can see it has a very long petal tube, and I guess these bumblebees cannot reach the nectar at the bottom, so have to drill a hole in the petal tube... fascinating.

Collies can swim

Photographic proof that some collies can swim! Meg will do anything to get hold of a stick before Harriet and Spot. Most collies we know won't even get their toes wet.

15 in one day 2

It was all getting a bit crowded. Bramble and knapweed have almost stopped flowering, and the meadows are full of devil's bit scabeous. The patches of scabeous were covered with a variety of pollinators getting their last top ups of the summer, drunk with nectar they were very docile allowing this sumptuous aerial view of a peacock.