Queen Caves, Wren Roosts and Mouse Chalets

image from www.morguefile.com

I am waiting for weather fit for a queen. Yesterday I went in search of an old mouse nest. I found what I was looking for beneath a sheet of corrugated iron. Next thing I needed was a flowerpot. And that length of hose I'd found deposited by winter floods was about to come in handy too. I cut a piece of chicken-wire, cradled the nest in it with some dry hay and placed it inside the flowerpot. I held one end of the hose inside and buried the whole lot upside down two-thirds of the way to the base of the pot. The hole in the base just needed a slate on top.

Now I will wait for a fine day and a visit from a female bumblebee looking for a place to nest. Maybe the native primroses my granny gave me will help persuade her not to overlook my little patch. I have planted them on a bit of a bank in the corner where forget-me-not is spreading nicely, though my dog has discovered it is the only bit of the garden that the sun can reach at the moment. She had her first sun-bathe of the year this week.

I found fascinating facts about bumblebees at http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/lifecycle/
and wildlife gardening ideas in general at http://www.gardenersworld.com/.