Bee barn

I'd gone for a run to visit the Morrigan Oak and on the way back I took a walk on the wild side [You mean, you trespassed. - Ed.] to check out these buildings. So many birds! And, of course, bees - as there were hives in one area - and rabbits too. Oh yes, and snails.

It made me think of a book I haven't read, but intend to (the youth of the author puts me off as I am jealous), Cal Flyn's Islands of Abandonment, the left-behind places where nature revives and takes up residence. She talks of Chernobyl, among other places. apparently. One of the things that then made me consider was a book about road verges (Life of the Verge of an Ecological Breakdown? Living on the Edge?). There is a lot of research into the biodiversity of verges and examples of best practice. Here is a great piece on the Natural History Museum website. [Another of your great ideas that never takes off? Brilliant, just brilliant. - Ed.]

In truth, I do need a project. For three reasons. One is that autumn misery has set in. Two is that my project with the cool Polish woman seems to have ground to a halt. She's maybe too busy and/or regrets partnering with me. And three is that I don't have enough work. It would be good to find more work, but that is proving tricky (doors slamming, windows bolted, vents closed). Of course, this adds to the autumn misery no end.

Still, it was good to see the bees, who were not in any way aggressive, though I was standing right next to an old trough which they seemed to have colonised. I was happy to think of that little island in the shitty arable fields where creatures could feel safe... until I came along. Mind you, I originally noticed the barn because people were shooting next to it. I think I cause less fuss than four men with shotguns.