Had a 1-2 hour walk along the River Witham [Water Rail Way] this afternoon south from Southrey village. Large "drifts" of pink petals from the Hawthorn were scattered on the track, looking like a "Stop The Oil" protest. Perhaps it was in a botanical way! 😬 Quite a lot of plants in flower but few insects seen other than Odonata [dragonflies and damselflies] - near the river and drains. I counted 6 bumblebees on the entire walk, plus 5 Brimstones, a Common Blue, and Small White butterfly. 5 swifts were feeding overhead along with a few swallows and martins. No insects splatted on the windscreen going or coming back.
I went to the wolf centre last week (210 mile round trip) and it was noticeable just how mucky the numberplate on the car was when I got home - - plenty of splats! Not many on the windscreen though, but I put that down to cars being far more streamlined than they were.
As for today, aside from admiring the dog roses (which have erupted in an abundance of pink flowers in the past few days), I've been painting a bench in the garden - it's in the area which I've let go wild this year (i.e. is full of weeds), although in a couple of weeks there will be plenty of poppies on display.
I inherited a small potted plum tree from my neighbour last year and it's now in full leaf, safely planted in the ground. It's odd, though, as the upper half is definitely a plum, but there are two branches with completely different leaves - and no flowers - at the bottom of the main stem. My old neighbour (now in a nursing home) seemed surprised at this, she thought it was just a normal plum!
While I was out there I kept an eye on the insects - lots of hoverflies still, plenty of little midge-like insects, something that looked like a small horsefly, one wasp (first I've seen this year), two speckled wood butterflies, one small blue butterfly and one red admiral. No bees seen, although I did hear the telltale loud buzzing of a bumble bee. There have been swallows flying overhead, the odd gull and magpie, with a blackbird keeping a beady eye on me. As well, there were the usual resident (as in living in my eaves and in my trees) sparrows and woodpigeons.
I'm starting to really enjoy being out in the garden (if not the sunshine), and the plan over the next few years is to turn the 44ft by 50ft wild / wooded area into a nice mini woodland walk, with a Japanese theme. I've been trying to get hold of a cleyera japonica var japonica shrub (as found in Shinto shrines), but they're proving a devil to track down... I'm sure I'll find a supplier eventually.