Bee Poo.

I'm in Chris Packham territory here. I was at the Newbattle bees today and, as I watched, a bee strolled out of a hive, left this little trail and then went back indoors. In nearly thirty years of beekeeping I've never seen such disgusting behaviour from a lady.
It's actually a bit worrying, they normally fly away from the hive on warm days to do this, today was the coldest day for a week so there was no reason for her to be "caught short". On the other hand, there's no sign of dysentery in this sample.
It is of slight interest that the poo is the same colour as the pollen that has been dropped on the landing board which is the left most of the two items circled in black, the other is a grain of wax, it is not really surprising that the food and excrement are similar colours. The pollen was, almost certainly, dropped on the on the way into the hive and the fact that the bees are collecting it is a strong indication that they are now raising brood ready for the spring; they must now maintain the brood nest temperature at 35 degrees centigrade whatever the weather; that should keep them busy.

I had another possible blip. Mrs TD came back from walking the dogs and told me that someone, probably a vandal, had opened the sluice at The Gunpowder Mill so I went off to have a look. The raging torrent was quite an impressive sight and had caused a bit of erosion, I documented it as I have an interest in the place and also managed a decent shot when a family with children appeared, but I'm afraid that there's not much that can compete with a photograph of poo.