I am currently reading What on Earth Happened?… In Brief (the planet life and people from the big bang to the present day). It is full of interesting facts and today I learned some interesting facts about bees, I had no idea there were so many different species of bee.
Bees descended from wasps and emerged alongside the first flowers. They switched from dining on other insects to a diet of pollen and nectar instead. There are 20,000 different species of bee alive today. Some of these – especially honeybees, bumblebees and stingless bees – form highly social groups that offer a deep insight into how nature’s civilizations work.
Eusocial creatures divide up jobs between themselves. They pass knowledge and learning on form one generation to another, care for their youngsters and even, in certain circumstances, sacrifice lives for the benefit of the group. Such characteristics were for a long time thought to be unique to mankind when it first organized itself into tribes and eventually cities and states. But, as any beekeeper will tell you that is not so.
Katherine Swift who wrote The Morville Hours is a beekeeper and there were many interesting snippets about bees in her book too. One of the things she mentions is that bees are now threatened by Varroa which is a parasitic mite endemic in most countries. It arrived in the UK in the mid 1990s. The mites attach themselves to the bees and weaken their bodies. This is easy to treat in domesticated bees, but not in wild bees which if left untreated can lead to the extinction of whole colonies.
I say long live the bee.
Tags: Bee, Bees, Bowood House, Flower, Pollen, Reading
Just when I thought it was time to relax I seem to be busy again! Updating the web and preparing another slide show. I have got the show nearly in order, just a few finishing touches and waiting for the music file (*fingers crossed*).
So for now I will leave you with another nice view of Hodnet Hall Gardens.
Tags: Hodnet Hall Gardens, Life
Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish.
Quintilian
Tags: Bluebells, Cherie's Place Thought, Hodnet Hall Gardens
I posted a cropped version of Malmesbury Abbey entrance a few weeks ago. I cropped the photo because a garbage can was spoiling the view.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
Tags: Abbey, Architecture, History, Malmesbury, Parish Church, PhotoHunt
I had a brief meeting in the PCS Regional office this afternoon. We were discussing the latest newsletter, which by default and inaction (from the rest of the editorial team) was left to me to collect the latest articles.
I thought I was going to be taught how to produce/collate the newsletter. I was quite stunned when I realised I was there so they could ask my advice on the best way to get the information across. My PCS page seems to have made a big impact and they were even more stunned when they realised that there were only two main contributers to the articles on the site.
So we sorted out the format for the next newsletter and time schedules for future ones. Then I left for the train home, but it was such a nice day I sat and paused for a few minutes by the Floozy in the Jacuzzi.
Tags: Birmingham, Meeting, Mobile Phone Pic, Newsletter, PCS, Trade Union
I have now finished reading the Morville Hours which I quoted from in my post yesterday. So what did I think of it?
Synopsys (from book cover):
Katherine Swift takes the reader on a journey through time, back to the forces which shaped the garden, linking the history of those who lived in the same Shropshire house and tended the same red soil with the stories of those who live and work there today. It is an account which spans thousands of years. But is also the story of one of one life: of relationships tested to breaking point, of despair and loss as well as joy and achievement. It is a journey through the seasons, but also a journey of self-exploration. It is a book about finding one’s place in the world and putting down roots.
Review:
The book is very elegantly written with beautiful prose, it deserves to be read slowly so you can take it all in and feel the wonderful atmosphere. The book is all about time and the garden and how the author made a new garden for the Dower House at Morville when she moved in and leased it off The National Trust in 1988.
The chapters are structured according to the medieaval Books of Hours and each chapter is named after one of the Hours of the Divine Office. The book includes line drawings that are styled like illustrations in the Books of hours.
It describes life in the rural Shropshire countryside and includes many interesting and fascinating topics such as gardening, astronomy, language, religion, horticulture, beekeeping and the history of Morville and the surrounding Shropshire countryside. It is also part autobiography.
It is well worth a read for anyone who enjoys the countryside and gardens or who has a love of lyricl prose.
This good article from TimesOnline gives a bit of background information about Katherine and the garden.
Tags: Book Review, Gardens, Reading, The Morville Hours
