Website of the Month - Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society

Bombus hypnorum on Salvia 'Mainacht'

The Grapes Hill Community Garden is now planted up and actually looks like a garden. One of the highlights at the moment is Salvia 'Mainacht', a beautiful ornamental sage with violet-purple flower spikes. This is proving to be a great hit with bumblebees. On Tuesday we identified three species, including the beautiful Bombus hypnorum (Tree Bumblebee), which only arrived in the UK ten years ago, and is spreading north.

A Google search quickly found the Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society (BWARS) website and I submitted a record.

The BWARS website is website of the month as it has some very helpful factsheets and information on bees (and wasps and ants). With habitat loss these beautiful and fascinating insects need all the help we can give them.

Facebook

I must admit I was a Facebook sceptic for a long time. And I still don't see the need to post lots of trivia on a regular basis.

However, I think Facebook provides a useful way of following particular actions, activities and groups. Here are a couple I've set up:
Grapes Hill Community Garden on Facebook
West Norwich Art Trail on Facebook.

Reluctantly, I think Facebook may even be April's website of the month...

It Cuts Both Ways...The Alternatives

Excellent, positive video which shows alternatives to the Government's austerity measures. See http://vimeo.com/21438134.

Website of the Month - Emorsgate Seeds

This month's website of the month is Emorsgate Seeds, a supplier of wildflower and grass seeds, including mixes for different soil types. For the Grapes Hill Community Garden in Norwich we're going to sow their loamy soil mix and also some cornfield annuals - plants which are hardly seen in the wild these days as agriculture has intensified and seed grading techniques have improved.

Emorsgate Seeds is a very well laid out and informative website and their printed catalogue is really useful too. The seed order arrived promptly - I'm now looking forward to doing some sowing later this month.

Wild Food, Wild Mushrooms, Fishing, Foraging, Recipes

I've just discovered a great blog -Wild Food, Wild Mushrooms, Fishing, Foraging, Recipes, Essex UK. I was looking for Alexanders on the web (a favourite plant of mine) and stumbled upon the site.

It has some really good wild food recipes, from Pan Fried Cod Fillet with Garlic Mustard Mash and Wild Sorrel sauce to Alexanders, Prawns and Chilli with Spaghetti and Wild Cherry Jam Conserve.

I'm starting to feel hungry...

Website of the Month - Write To Them

This month's website is Write To Them, a site that finds your local representative - MP, councillor, MEP, MSP etc. - and allows you to contact them by e-mail or fax. Simply put in your postcode to start.

With the current shower in power, it's time to get writing...

A Day Out In Suffolk

Today we went over the border into Suffolk, but needed no passports as my wife has dual Norfolk/Suffolk nationality.
We looked for Hawfinches around Sotterley Church (unsuccessfully), then headed to Minsmere RSPB Reserve, where we had excellent views of a Firecrest and also saw female Smew and several Pintail. It was warm but rather windy.
Excellent lunch in the Eel's Foot at Eastbridge, acompanied by a superbly kept pint of Adnams' "Oyster Stout".

Sotterley Park

Walking to Sotterley church

Sotterley Park

Sotterley Park

Sotterley Park

Sotterley Park

Beech tree, Sotterley Park

Sotterley church

Winter Aconites

Minsmere

Minsmere

Minsmere Beach

Sea watching, Minsmere Beach