Just beeing

This is the first honeybee I have seen this year. There's not much nectar and pollen to be had in our garden at the moment, except for the Hellebores which are flowering better than ever before. This little lady was collecting pollen, and had two full pollen baskets.

I'm not sure how far she has come to forage in the garden. The nearest hive I think is about half a mile away, and that was where the small swarm was taken last Autumn after they had settled in the garden. I would like to think it was one of the workers from that swarm that had returned to the garden today, but who knows?

There were queen bumblebees in the garden too, prospecting for nest sites. We have house sparrows in the nest box as well as those behind the barge boards. The Amelanchier is about to burst into its brief and splendid flowering.

A quiet day today. I've been trying to get some work done ahead of having next week off.