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As this border of our front garden is only a few yards from the verge where I photographed an Andrena cineraria at the weekend, it’s probably the same individual, continuing to look after the area he’s marked out as his … Continued

What’s black and white and re[a]d all over? I’m giving away my age again – my childhood was filled with stupid jokes like this, and despite the fact that I can’t remember a single actually funny joke (and if I … Continued

This is the photo I tried and failed to capture yesterday, of a tiny Andrena fulva queen feeding from a gooseberry flower. As you can see it’s a much more sensible proposition for her than for the huge Bombus hypnorum … Continued

I didn’t sleep well after the excitement of our London trip and the Chris Thile gig, and woke tired and fractious, and very unenthusiastic about the prospect of singing Poulenc in front of an audience. R and I started the … Continued

You know how it is: some days are better than others, but most lie within the realms of the ordinary, and over time merge with the mass of material within your memory banks – so that without a blip journal … Continued

Yesterday evening it stopped raining, the sky cleared, and the night was misty and bitterly cold. Today was still cold, and mainly cloudy, but occasionally the sun did emerge, and at lunch time I thought it might be worth taking … Continued

So what do you do when you’re desk is covered with things that need doing more or less urgently, but you want to go out to play in the garden with the bugs – but there are no bugs because … Continued

I do, as you know, like a bit of Gothic. This is the junction between the North Transept (to the left) and the Choir (to the right) of Lichfield Cathedral, showing some of its fine fan vaulting, as well as … Continued

Until relatively recently, your community was the place where you lived, or perhaps a church or a networking organisation which held a central place in your life. These days most of us belong to a range of different communities, many … Continued

A dreary, dark, cold Sunday. R braved the biting wind to do some gardening; I did not. There were no bugs about, in any case. Good things: Warm chicken Caesar salad, made with kale and spring greens. A jug of … Continued