Tag Archives: Flowers

An Indian Summer

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I’m running late today with writing the blog. Apologies, but I was talking to two friends overseas – (they know who they are but it’s my fault for not being more organised).

Anywho, today was another beautiful day and it was my turn to walk the dogs. I took them out and visited the old horses and ponies. We call days like these “an Indian Summer”.

Fivla didn’t want to talk to me mostly because I had told her to leave her wee shed and go out and enjoy the day.  She grudgingly left, probably muttering but she had been inside for a good 3 hours first.  You have to make the most of days like these now.

Vitamin was already out and about and enjoying the autumn sunshine.

She came up for a chat and I admired her always gorgeous “teddy-bear ears”.

There’s still lots of grass and everyone was making the most of it.

Vitamin is looking nice and round, storing fat ready for the winter onslaught.

I don’t want Fivla to get any fatter and I told her this which added to her grump.

This lot will probably stay in this big field for another month or so, and then the little Shetland ponies will go in for winter because it will already be nicely grazed down.

The old Icelandic horses were further along in the field.  Again, they are all looking good now.

And everyone’s winter coats are starting to come in too.

Not going to lie, I am dreading winter.

Back to Bumble Bees

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I took your advice and went into our garden yesterday evening, in the late sunshine, looking for more bumble bees to photograph.  It was much easier as they were slower.

There is a huge pile of comfrey plants which the bumble bees love and I spent my time trying not to get in their way while they buzzed into all the flowers.

I was captivated while they flew their figures of eight around me and the flowers.

I must admit that I do love their fuzzy little bottoms.

Later in the day, I returned to my comfrey patch and my bumble bees.  I like bee-watching. There is something relaxing about watching someone else work very hard!

It had been raining in the afternoon, too.

Now I think I have identified my bees as being the “Northern White-tailed Bumblebee”
(Bombus magnus) – This is a common visitor to gardens and crofting land throughout Shetland, except Fair Isle. It is the earliest species to appear in Shetland in spring, and can be seen anytime between April and September. The Northern White-tail is a very neat, clean-looking species. It has a black thorax, with a single yellow band at the front. The abdomen has another yellow band, and a white tail; hence this is Shetland’s only ‘double banded white-tail’. – Shetland Amenity Trust.

Bombus Magnus is a very fitting name, I think.

Oh, those little fuzzy butts!

Bumble Bee Fail

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i was at Turriefield this morning packing vegetables – salad, onions and spring onions.  Not too onerous so I after lunch, I walked down the hill to the bright yellow flowering kalette plant bed as I was told there was lots of bumble bees there.

I love bumble bees and I really wanted to see my first-for-the-year Shetland bumble bee (Bombus muscorum agricolae), which is a distinct sub-species of the Moss Carder bee.  They have orange bottoms.

Anyway, I didn’t see one and what bumble bees were there were all very busy flying very quickly on and around the flowers – no one wanted their photograph taken.

I tried very hard to take a good photo but honestly, when the heavens opened and it started to rain in great big drops, I gave up and went back up to the shelter of the shed.

So now I can’t even tell what species of bumble bee I saw – possibly the garden one or white-tailed one.

And apologies for the bad photos – but even though it was a brief shower, it was a determined one.