Ben
@benjyhere.bsky.social
First and foremost, biodiversity: Frogs; Snakes; Bees but the wild kinds; Birds but not a birder. Occasional politics, of the woke, pro-Rejoin kind. Si j'avais le choix, je serais à Toulouse. SW London. Crepuscular.
Pinned
Ben
@benjyhere.bsky.social
· Nov 22
If I were allowed to write a @theguardian.com Country Diary, it might go something like this. @nicwilson.bsky.social @katebradbury.bsky.social @levparikian.bsky.social @brigit.strawbridge.bsky.social
Balham, SW London: little beats the thrill of nesting swifts and you can have it too.
A 🧵
Balham, SW London: little beats the thrill of nesting swifts and you can have it too.
A 🧵
It's clean of i get up first. Or if I remember i needed a glass of water before bed and return to the kitchen i just cleaned.
February 10, 2026 at 5:19 PM
It's clean of i get up first. Or if I remember i needed a glass of water before bed and return to the kitchen i just cleaned.
Just the best time of the year! Still a couple of weeks away, here in SW London...
February 10, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Just the best time of the year! Still a couple of weeks away, here in SW London...
Someone was listening - it has gone.
February 10, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Someone was listening - it has gone.
The strange thing is while the solitary bees have decided it's warm enough, the robins, who raised 3 broods last year, are about but not nest building yet. Maybe knackered.
February 10, 2026 at 11:57 AM
The strange thing is while the solitary bees have decided it's warm enough, the robins, who raised 3 broods last year, are about but not nest building yet. Maybe knackered.
Yes, I'm not sure they'll make it. Lots of rain in the forecast. A little bit of forage about but not much.
February 9, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Yes, I'm not sure they'll make it. Lots of rain in the forecast. A little bit of forage about but not much.
I fear it is slightly too early...
February 9, 2026 at 3:12 PM
I fear it is slightly too early...
Happened to me a couple of yrs ago when I pierced the pond liner... if you have a water butt you could use that to store as much of the old pond water as possible. Get the level down to a point where you can move the old liner with the mud and larvae in. But it is a bit close to the season...
February 9, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Happened to me a couple of yrs ago when I pierced the pond liner... if you have a water butt you could use that to store as much of the old pond water as possible. Get the level down to a point where you can move the old liner with the mud and larvae in. But it is a bit close to the season...
A little bit of sunshine and the bee boys (here, Osmia cornuta) come out to play. #SolitaryBees #Spring @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social @cathhodsman.bsky.social @ianbeavis.bsky.social @katebradbury.bsky.social @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 10:54 AM
A little bit of sunshine and the bee boys (here, Osmia cornuta) come out to play. #SolitaryBees #Spring @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social @cathhodsman.bsky.social @ianbeavis.bsky.social @katebradbury.bsky.social @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social
Sure, but some bright spark went round it with double yellows already so it's not a given...
February 9, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Sure, but some bright spark went round it with double yellows already so it's not a given...
It's such a massive let down that whole stretch. 3 small bits of protected lane, no floating bus stop and what's with that weird double yellow bulge at the junction with Fieldview that follows the old kerb? As you say, hoping for Wandle gap but not very safe at night...
February 9, 2026 at 8:04 AM
It's such a massive let down that whole stretch. 3 small bits of protected lane, no floating bus stop and what's with that weird double yellow bulge at the junction with Fieldview that follows the old kerb? As you say, hoping for Wandle gap but not very safe at night...
#SolitaryBee season open - signs of hatching around the hotel and if you look carefully you can see the white moustache of an orchard mason bee. Not much pollen about but cherry plum is coming into flower and the snowdrops are out and about. Forecast bit wet though... @ianbeavis.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 12:30 PM
#SolitaryBee season open - signs of hatching around the hotel and if you look carefully you can see the white moustache of an orchard mason bee. Not much pollen about but cherry plum is coming into flower and the snowdrops are out and about. Forecast bit wet though... @ianbeavis.bsky.social
Do you get toads or newts as well?
February 7, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Do you get toads or newts as well?
Oh very nice! SW London is still about 3 weeks away from lift off but the boys are starting to assemble in the evening. About 10 last night.
February 7, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Oh very nice! SW London is still about 3 weeks away from lift off but the boys are starting to assemble in the evening. About 10 last night.
Lovely, thanks. Re owls, as Lev said, definitely possible. We had tawnies on Tooting Common during lockdown, occasional visitors to Wandsworth Common and resident on Wimbledon Common. They also nest in Battersea Park. Can get my fix quite easily. Merlin occasionally says in my garden too (not)
February 6, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Lovely, thanks. Re owls, as Lev said, definitely possible. We had tawnies on Tooting Common during lockdown, occasional visitors to Wandsworth Common and resident on Wimbledon Common. They also nest in Battersea Park. Can get my fix quite easily. Merlin occasionally says in my garden too (not)
Very cool. Is there an idiot's guide to how to set something like this up somewhere?
February 6, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Very cool. Is there an idiot's guide to how to set something like this up somewhere?
I remember thinking, bother, have to go through all this again in just 5 years, the cost, the time, etc. Then you get to 5, look at the photo and go, ok, fair dos.
February 4, 2026 at 3:27 PM
I remember thinking, bother, have to go through all this again in just 5 years, the cost, the time, etc. Then you get to 5, look at the photo and go, ok, fair dos.
In the meantime we'll toy with you... even pretend to take your money. 😀
February 4, 2026 at 3:22 PM
In the meantime we'll toy with you... even pretend to take your money. 😀
Rail Europe says booking window not open yet... massive sigh.
February 4, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Rail Europe says booking window not open yet... massive sigh.
It's doing my head in - last and fairly vital bit in complicated jigsaw. Have tried 6 diff sites inc obb, 2 cards. All take you right through selecting couchette, etc then either fail just before or just after payment (all refunded, thankfully)... very odd. Just assume a switch needs flicking.
February 4, 2026 at 11:59 AM
It's doing my head in - last and fairly vital bit in complicated jigsaw. Have tried 6 diff sites inc obb, 2 cards. All take you right through selecting couchette, etc then either fail just before or just after payment (all refunded, thankfully)... very odd. Just assume a switch needs flicking.
Booking European train odyssey, I have learnt:
- *no one* wants my money for Budapest-Stuttgart sleeper. Why?
- DB app cheaper for TGV than SNCF.
- Vienna-Split sleeper *is* running
#TrainsNotPlanes but with patience. @seatsixtyone.bsky.social @andybtravels.bsky.social @politicanimal.bsky.social
- *no one* wants my money for Budapest-Stuttgart sleeper. Why?
- DB app cheaper for TGV than SNCF.
- Vienna-Split sleeper *is* running
#TrainsNotPlanes but with patience. @seatsixtyone.bsky.social @andybtravels.bsky.social @politicanimal.bsky.social
February 4, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Booking European train odyssey, I have learnt:
- *no one* wants my money for Budapest-Stuttgart sleeper. Why?
- DB app cheaper for TGV than SNCF.
- Vienna-Split sleeper *is* running
#TrainsNotPlanes but with patience. @seatsixtyone.bsky.social @andybtravels.bsky.social @politicanimal.bsky.social
- *no one* wants my money for Budapest-Stuttgart sleeper. Why?
- DB app cheaper for TGV than SNCF.
- Vienna-Split sleeper *is* running
#TrainsNotPlanes but with patience. @seatsixtyone.bsky.social @andybtravels.bsky.social @politicanimal.bsky.social
Nice forest fire in pic 4 too
February 3, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Nice forest fire in pic 4 too
There's something in the air with sleeper trains. First this bad news of no Vienna-Split (*big* part of summer plans) then 4 failed attempts (DB,OeBB,TL) to pay for Budapest-Stuttgart. Are you hearing anything about that route also, Mark? @seatsixtyone.bsky.social #TrainsNotPlanes
February 3, 2026 at 9:27 AM
There's something in the air with sleeper trains. First this bad news of no Vienna-Split (*big* part of summer plans) then 4 failed attempts (DB,OeBB,TL) to pay for Budapest-Stuttgart. Are you hearing anything about that route also, Mark? @seatsixtyone.bsky.social #TrainsNotPlanes
Or a dish. But not by the door, in the kitchen.
February 3, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Or a dish. But not by the door, in the kitchen.
Amazingly the newts and frogs seem to coexist at the allotment... not quite sure why
February 2, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Amazingly the newts and frogs seem to coexist at the allotment... not quite sure why