THE buff-tailed bumble bee

(Bumbus terrestris)

starts the morning

blithely bouncing

from broom to buddleia

as if on a trampoline.

But his forage

among the flowers

is more enterprising

than you think.

After a scramble

among the brambles

(Rubus fructicosus)

to clear his tubes

he tumbles into the umbels

of the Cow Parsley

(Angelica archangelica)

to settle his digestion.

Then he takes

a discreet cruise

round a dormitory

of scarlet poppies

(Papaver somniferum)

for his customary 'fix'.

Then a quick hop into the hops

(one for the road)

and over to the hissop

for a blessing.

Finally he fumbles around

in the thimbles of the foxglove

(Digitalis purpurea)

to give him heart for the return flight

to hive, home and honeycomb.

Submitted by Frank S Rickards

Oswaldkirk

Updated: 10:54 Wednesday, September 04, 2002