First Light Buzziness

Far too full of energy to sleep, I found myself still awake at 5.00am so went out to see the dawn. I am by no means a morning person so this is a rare pleasure - last time is recorded here.

From the camera data I can see I walked around the neighbourhood for an hour and a half, by which time all the colour had left the sky and the forecast grey had claimed the day.

Early morning on a Saturday was something of a revelation, no humans stirred till 6.00am, not a single car. The world belonged to birds, uber-friendly cats, a few midgies and BEES. Really the predominant life form awake appeared to be bees, and wasps. The scent of privet in full flower attracting droves of them. I followed a vibration in the air to a tall tree alive with a buzzing so loud I soon stepped back, fearing a swarm of some sort. A little further on I came across the same phenomenon again, an enormous soft green tree vibrating with sound. Some long-forgotten knowledge told me this was a lime tree and that these were not just bees, but wasps, maybe even hornets. And that this was their territory. Both facts confirmed by reference books and Google when I got home.

Isn't it great when you discover something you didn't know you knew? Some ancient wisdom obscured by the rush and busyness of everyday life. Absence of sleep rather scuppered my plans for today though - a small price to pay.