Tooth Marks .

I knew that photo opportunities might be in short supply today so I took this hurried blip first thing while walking the dogs. It's my old friend the razor strop fungus. The books say it is edible, so a squirrel had been along to prove the point though, of course, it's always possible that the culprit crawled away to a deep dark hole in the ground to die an unpleasant death. I washed my hands before taking food down to the Glen for "Science in the Glen." I had the time for a quick look around and a few shots of some model steam locomotives but I found it to be surprisingly difficult to photograph black shiny things in the sunlight, I suspect I was missing something simple. I also had time for a cup of tea and some cake before heading off to a Newbattle beekeeping meeting.

There were a few chores to be done and notes to compare at the apiary, then, while second year projects were being planned I did a Q & A session with any of the tyros who were interested. One member had completely misunderstood the process of swarming, so that had to be explained in detail; swarming is integral to the life cycle of the colony, and how to control it is integral to the craft of beekeeping; get them wrong and you don't receive your certificate at the end of the year. Then there was the question of when to stop feeding the brutes in the autumn; the questioner was expecting to hear a date whereas the answer is, "when they've had enough." Some of the colonies were still taking significant quantities of food while that in my care stopped feeding a fortnight ago; the supplies that you give them now has to provide most of their nutritional needs until the end of April, that's a heck of a long time. There was time for a cup of tea and some cake before heading off to the cinema to show a film that I really did not enjoy.

Having set up the projection equipment, we always enjoy a coffee and a piece of cake before the performance and then have another one before dismantling it at the end. Not having had anything to eat other than cake since breakfast, I had a craving for savoury food and so stopped for a steak pie on the way home; I felt decidedly queasy when I went to bed.