Far From the Madding Crowd: December 2013

Monday, 23 December 2013

Neptune at Harwick Hall, County Durham

Neptune at Harwick Hall, County Durham, a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

This was taken on Christmas Day, 2009. What a difference this Christmas is going to be, a very soggy one. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas:-)

Sunday, 22 December 2013

Bumblebees in Winter!

I have posted some information about bees in winter from the Bee Conservation Society. It is the Buff-tailed Bumblebee that continues to be active during the winter months, even when it is close to freezing temperatures or snow.

http://bumblebeeconservation.org/news/anthonys-blog/winter-active-bumblebees

Thursday, 19 December 2013

Buff-tailed bee (19.12.13)

Buff-tailed bee (19.12.13), a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

This is the Buff-tailed bumblebee in my garden today. This bumblebee is still out and about through the winter, particularly if it is mild. This plant, the Mahonia is a great source of food for it during the winter months.

My Blog

I have taken the title of my blog from Thomas Hardy's fourth novel 'Far From the Madding Crowd' which he wrote in 1874. He took his title from Thomas Gray's poem 'Elegy written in a Country Churchyard' completed in 1750. Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset where he lived for most of his life and where he based the stories in his novels. The word 'madding' means frenzied and there is a sense of freedom I get being out in the countryside and being close to nature away from the frenzied atmosphere of the towns and cities. I live in Dorset and like Thomas Hardy, it is where I have lived for most of my life, my blog is mostly about nature in Dorset. I am a member of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. I will include my garden and anything of interest about the natural world in Britain.