Fluffy pink bum

I did so much gardening today - completing the renovation of the big rose bed, and then mulching the whole thing with rotted wood chips from the pile left for me by the tree surgeon last autumn - that I'm now toadally zorsted, and barely know what to do with myself. Going to bed might be the best idea, I think.

Tonight's two photos were taken fore and aft of my big gardening session. The main image is an early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) on one of the gooseberry bushes in the soft fruit bed in the secret garden. She was zooming around the flowers erratically and at high speed, which (good light and excellent camera notwithstanding) made her pretty hard to capture, but I managed a few acceptable shots. This is my favourite, even though her head is tucked out of sight, because... actually, when it comes down to it I'm not sure why I like it so much. Maybe it's because it shows her tri-coloured markings quite nicely, or perhaps its because this head-down, bum-in-the-air position is my own habitual pose during the invertebrate season. I'm happy to report however that my rear end is generally clad in denim, rather than orangey pink fur.

After I'd packed away all my gardening tools, I tottered off along the lane in the hope of finding some good bees or hoverflies on the newly-opened blackthorn blossom. To my disappointment most of the diners were honey bees, but the blackthorn itself was looking pretty splendid in the late afternoon sunshine, so I've added an extra photo of a blossom spray that caught my eye. I've also posted another shot of the early bumblebee - including her head - on my Facebook page, if you'd care to take a look.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate Sheol, who has been awarded Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society after presenting a panel of Natural History images for assessment. To those of us who regularly grind our teeth in chagrin at the quality of his bird photography this hardly comes as a surprise, but it's delightful news all the same.