Possible source of tadpoles identified:

Put a little bee house in your soul

Lots of insect activity in the garden this weekend, and it was gratifying to see the bamboo bee house actually being investigated by three solitary bees (are they really solitary if there are three of them?).

At least one now seems to have taken up residence.

Weed

On a day like this, even the humble dandelion looks good.

Produce

In a neat bit of re-use, I forced some rhubarb under a tower of three old car tyres. We had the first crop the other day, stewed with stems and leaves of Sweet Cicely for a bit of an aniseed tang. Very nice, though I say so myself.

And the tyres are now free to be filled with soil and spuds.

Down on Jimmy's Farm

Had a great tour round Jimmy Doherty's pig farm near Ipswich today, with farm manager Nathan, a man of boundless enthusiasm. Spoke of many possible projects, from meadow creation to biomass. All very exciting.

I hope it is the beginning of a fruitful association.

Taddies' daddies

And speaking of which, what about this pair?

I think he looks a bit spent...

Taddies

I found myself watching tadpoles in our pond today, and then realised that I hadn't really stoppped and watched them for years, probably not since I was a kid.

Note to self: don't forget to take the time to watch things like tadpoles. They're brilliant!

Foreign Flowers are Eating our Wildlife, says Daily Mail

My old mate Andy Tasker seems to be causing a bit of a stir with his website IHateDaffodils His contention is that they don't belong in the English countryside, apart from those few small areas where they are native, and are ousting our own native flora.

I have mixed views about this (sorry, Andy). I agree that planting non-native species in the wider countryside is a Bad Thing. Always. Daffs are no exception. But I'm not convinced that they are aggressively invasive in the same way as, for instance, Japanese knotweed.

Having said that, I visited one of the Notts Wildlife Trust's remotest nature reserves, down a bone-shaking gravel track out the back of a miles-from-anywhere village. And lo and behold, there in the reserve entrance...

A nice clump of daffs.

Who is it that does this? Who travels all these miles to add to the aesthetic appeal of our finest widlife sites with the addition of a clump of Tete a Tete? I would like to meet them. With no witnesses around.

Hedgerow bounty

First forage of the year - wild garlic. Made wild garlic pesto, with fresh grated parmesan, olive oil and (if I'm honest) a bit too much wild garlic.

Note to self - go easy with it next time. Oh, and get some pine nuts. And mouthwash...