Morning

This was taken not long after dawn, while wispy mist was still lying over the woods and hills. The light on these still clear mornings is ethereal. The reflected sky and patches of cloud give the edge of the mudflats an indistinct misty outline.

This wasn't going to be my blip today, but I lacked the courage of my convictions. I wanted to blip a picture of a swarm of several hundred honey bees that was hidden amongst ivy and Clematis against our garden wall, I found it while doing some tidying and bulb planting. In case anyone wants to look I have posted it here.

I don't know much about swarming behaviour, but I understand that it mostly occurs earlier in the year. A small swarm like this in the Autumn is likely to be that of a virgin queen with a relatively small number of attendant workers. They will be resting up here while the search is on for a suitable new hive. I'm not sure if the traffic of workers into and out of the settled swarm were bees foraging for food or scouts looking for a potential hive.

There have been precious few honey bees around this year, so it was encouraging to see this. Much earlier in the year, Wifie witnessed a much larger swarm pass through the garden, and that would have been a prime swarm of the old queen and her workers.

After taking the the blip photo, I caught the train to Barrow. Here we finalised my entries for the Traces of Barrow exhibition in a fortnight. This will be the first time I have ever exhibited any photographs, and naturally I am worrying they are not good enough. They are certainly a departure from my usual subjects. They were taken in the back streets of Barrow, old brick buildings with unusual uses and interesting doors and windows. I like them, but will anyone else? I fear if I posted them here, they wouldn't attract a second glance. But then would a small swarm of bees hidden amongst the ivy?