Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

The fruit blossom has been abundant this year, thanks to a largely warm and dry spring and the bees have been all over the trees; the old apple on my plot is a-buzz with them. The early plum has given way to cherry and apple and in the SW wildlife area the blackthorn blossom is almost over and hawthorn is on the way,

Have you noticed many, or any butterflies during this recent spell of perfect spring sun? I’ve seen a couple of Brimstones, Peacocks, a Red Admiral and a few Large Whites over the past couple of weeks, but it hasn’t been good news on the butterfly front;

The temperatures plummeted last week following the year’s first Sunday RPA event – Seed sale and café re-opening when we were so lucky to have blue skies and warm sun! But despite the past week or so of very chill winds the birds are springing back into action;

The southwest corner of the site, beyond the original dead hedges comprises the beekeepers’ hives, areas of undisturbed wildlife habitat, the old apple and pear fruit trees, an evergreen barrier hedge…

Only one word to describe this past week of cold, overcast and dull days – dreich, a Scottish word that can mean bleak, dreary, cheerless, depressive and dismal amongst others! However, RPA volunteers are not daunted by a bit of dreich and two hardy types have been attending to the native deciduous hedge…