Wednesday: Not Pretty but Loved by Bees …

… and other wildlife :-))

Very cold, with westerly wind all morning, temperature around 13°C for most of day.

I cleared the path to the compost bins whilst it wasn’t raining, cardoon had collapsed, their leaves are as tall as me - they’re now compost !

Workmen from yesterday still in our road

I sat down for a few minutes watching all the little bees feeding on aquilegia, pink comfrey, astrantia, black cranesbill, wild buttercups, wild strawberry flowers - mixture of buff tailed and carder worker bees. Behind the wall there are thick brambles to protect our privacy, the birds are nesting there and flying over the wall to collect seeds, earthworms, grubs and any other food they can find in the flower beds and on the paths - dunnock, blackbirds, wrens, sparrows as well as butterflies and moths and all sorts of insects … small group of goldfinch turned up this afternoon.

Tonight MrD and I were watching a film (Jennifer Lopez in “Second Act”) when I noticed a goldfinch inspecting the dead Forget-me-not stems opposite the window, then snapped the stem with its beak and ran its beak along the stem eating the seeds :-) This is a reward for “untidy gardening”, the goldfinch then cut a very long piece of flower stem and flew off with it in its beak, presumably to a mate or maybe it’s chicks :-)

IN EXTRAS THERE’S A PHOTO OF AN UNUSUAL CATERPILLAR FEEDING ON A GOOSEBERRY BUSH IN THE GREENHOUSE, ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO IDENTITY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED :-)

ADDED LATER: the caterpillar may be that of the Magpie Moth, top right on this page - 
http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/british-caterpillar-galleries/british-moth-caterpillar-galleries-2/nggallery/page/2

Loads of love and hugs to all my family / Cariad Mawr
Nos da pawb / Goodnight all XXXX XXX XX