All creatures great and small - the Kate Bit

I've read that there has been a huge reduction in the numbers of bumble bees in the coutry. Well, whoever compiled the bee statistics should have been standing by the honeysuckle that climbs up the wall of my garage early this morning.

I've just been hanging out the washing in the (hopefully) first decent break in the rain and thunderstorms since Thursday night. Standing there, pegging towels on the line, I could hear hundreds of bees contentedly buzzing as they foraged for pollen. There were so many of them that their humming sounded loud in the morning silence - like a happy male chorus singing to a new day. It sounded wonderful.

And in other critter news, as I mentioned when Abby Green and Trish Wylie were here, the bottom of the garden Heck family are out and about in the warmer weather - and you can almost set your watch by their appearence at 10.30pm looking for their food. There are some rather shy mini-Hecks who forage in the discraded cat meat on the lawn but last night two slightly larger ones - that I can only assume are last year's mini-Hecks, came right up close to the French doors to get at the cat crunchies sprinkled on the path.

These two obviously know the ropes - which, together with their size, is what makes me think they've stayed around from last year, and they were quite happy to be photographed - at first from a little distance (see above)and then one of them let me sit just a couple of feet away from him and snap him hogging out on the crunchies.

So for Anne McAllister and India Grey and her girls - and all other Heck fans - here are last night's little visitors.