Sweat bee Halictus rubicundus

 This is the sweat bee Halictus rubicundus.  I've just added these images to the Other bees pages.  When I first saw one I though it was a hoverfly, then a wasp.  It was only when I found one in the garden and caught it in my net and saw the legs that I knew she must be a bee.  Those back legs are just fantastic for carrying pollen.  I realise now that the ones I'd seen when out with my dog had been heavily laden with pollen, and it was that that made them so visible.

The weather is getting colder and windier by the day.  I have to light the log fire every day now, but it is nice to come home from a long walk in the woods to sit and doze by the fire.

The purple cow

I never saw a purple cow

I never hope to see one;

But I can tell you, anyhow,

I'd rather see than be one.

G Burgess.