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Low Arvie Nature News 6/15/2010 9:10:59 PM
We are having a remarkable spell of dry weather here, in fact we are hoping to get the silage cut before the end of next week - always a stressful time (both books), but we might just do it stress free this year.
Of course, the midges have started to appear. I am very allergic to their bites and suffer terribly, but they don't affect Richard at all. We are so not badly bothered here as further north, but, for me, its bad enough. We have a Midge Buster machine that attracts them and traps them and keeps the whole area around the house free of them, but Richard hasn't got round to setting it up yet, despite my nagging, so effectively I am a prisoner in the house unless I cover every part of me like Nanook of the North, which looks a bit silly in this weather. They are only really tiresome early morning and in the evening, when the air is still.
We are approaching the longest day and at this time of year, it stays light until around 11pm. Light enough to see where you are going anyway, and even at 11.30 there is light in the northern sky. Then it is light again by 4am. The swallows seem to spend most of the night chattering away to each other just above our bedroom window and they usually wake me several times! I haven't got round to counting how many nests are in the barns this year, but there must be six or more, I think.
Last night at dusk, the pipstrelle bats were swooping around past the bedroom window, doing their best to clear the area of midges. That's the first time I've noticed them this year, so its good to know they are still around.
Unhappily the geese did not deem our pond suitable as a nesting site and have now left us for pastures new.
Well, we have a couple here for Bed and Breakfast and I can hear that they are coming down for breakfast, so i must go and start cooking!
