Those dark elements : 4. 9. 2015

You are on your knees in a lavender patch, following the music of bees. In the distance a harvester is droning, and the evening sun highlights wings and petals.

You are obsessing about the need for a soft bed and a warm hearth as the autumn sets in; for a safe place to pause, for a warm welcome. And you can't imagine leaving all this, leaving your own home and setting out on foot, to walk for miles to who knows where?

And you can barely grasp how thousands of them are walking through fields full of lavender and don't have even a moment to watch every last flicker of this season's sunsets, or to photograph bees in the evening light.

And you find that "$50 will provide high thermal fleece blankets to help protect a family from the elements." And you can't help imagining those dark elements as the chill of a September breeze, rustles through the leaves.

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Warblers, Andy Warhol and the beautiful art of land

Tiny warbler in the fennel

Small flocks of warblers have invaded the herb garden and I've taken a big shine to them. I think this one is a Chiff-chaff but as ever I am open to correction by my twitcher friends. 

This summer there are fewer butterflies and insects but a lot more warblers. My sister was visiting from Sweden and we both remarked on the eery silence and lack of bees buzzing. The buddleia otherwise known as the butterfly bush, has had no takers. Every other year it has been laden with them. 

This week I did a happy dance because one butterfly appeared in the kitchen.

It is probably no coincidence that the land around here has been cleared and fertilised having been a boggy wilderness for years. Although designated as a protected wetland, the local authority did not see any conflict of interest with clearing for "agricultural purposes." This consisted of the removal of a willow wood, a number of acres of boggy wildflower meadows, ditches, hedgerows, and numerous trees. 

Farmers can't be blamed if the relevant authorities fail to educate and monitor how farming should be managed. At this stage our couple of wild acres are an oasis of cover for small animals and birds on this boreen. There are other small farms around here but there won't be any talk of conservation when the younger generations finally inherit them. I suspect instead that all the shiny bulldozers and diggers will be out in force again.

I came across this prophetic wisdom from New York celebrity artist Andy Warhol, and I thought of the vulnerable landscapes of Ireland.

"I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want."

Busy bees, the hoverflies and us.

We are busy; the bees, the hoverflies and us.

We are buzzing, and flitting and re-focussing our intentions.

We are working all hours to keep body and soul together. Gathering and seizing every chance. Seeking only the brightest and best. With every other creature we are plotting and planning and above all........ we are looking for signs........

Is there the slightest chill in the wind? Are the leaves turning their backs to the world?  Grasses everywhere are turning golden and seeding, so will the farmers get to save the hay?

We are alert. We watch the sky for breaks or for weather fronts approaching from the west.....

There are signs everywhere, Autumn is just around the corner, and the bees, the hoverflies and us just keep doing what we do best........we are working......and when we get a minute, we are enjoying the Cornflowers.........

Guzzling Bees and Woundwort flowers

So the rain continued to bucket down all through July and alongside the accompanying sea mist, a kind of fog settled on my brain. The days melt into one and soon afternoons blend into night. It can all get a bit grey and vague without sky, and sunsets and the changing light I crave......

One evening I found myself sitting for a while with a swathe of damp Woundwort flowers and discovered that the bees were very much alive and kicking. Their buzzing was infectious and soon I was lost in their world of flitting and guzzling.

Woundwort is another of those beautiful wildflowers considered a "weed" and banned from gardens. So today I am showing off it's delicate beauty and welcoming a big invasion of it in Foxglove Lane.



More photos of guzzling bees and Woundwort here in the gallery

Blackberries start out as the sweetest blossoms

Blackberries are one of our most universally loved wild foods. As a girl I gathered them and stuffed my pockets only to be reprimanded for ruining all my clothes with their dark juice. To this day I can't resist them and in the late summer and autumn they transform my walks into a slow dance through the fields bending and stretching through thorns and nettles to get the best ones.

At this time of the year the hedgerows are teeming with their white understated blossoms. They don't last too long and it is only since I have been trying to photograph bees that I have noticed how beautiful they are. Bees don't hang around but on brambles they are so engrossed that it gives great opportunities to capture them.

The blackberry bramble is a common plant but few of us have them growing in our gardens. Luckily Paddy loves them and is inclined to leave them to grow through the other fruit trees and vegetables with great tolerance. (We both have a huge tolerance for wild things which most people would just call "weeds") I'm afraid Alan Titchmarsh would not be too impressed. Our poor manicured lawn neighbours down the lane have been offerring us a strimmer which I assume is a big hint to tidy up the wilderness, but they have no hope!

Although I love bees I am still not too good at distinguishing one type from another especially amongst the bumblers. Is this one the White-tailed Bumble Bee? If you are keen to observe them check out your local blackberry bush and for further information see Bumblebee Conservation and Dublin Beekeeping Services websites.