Enjoying some quiet time in the memorial garden at Guildford Cathedral, I paused to admire the old-fashioned roses with their beautiful pink blushes. Movement and noise attracted my lens- a honeybee was relishing an ecstatic experience!

My photo shows the bee about to head off home. What you can’t see is the enthusiastic work that happened a few seconds earlier. The bee was gathering pollen and nectar by doing an interpretative-dance-plus-gymnastics. No decorous sipping for this bee: writhing, rolling, creeping, crawling, pouncing… it must have been a prime site for worker-bee support.

Almost as soon as this bee vacated the site, another type of bee (like a small bumblebee) dived into the rose and performed its own version of the same dance!

I don’t think I have ever seen happier bees- they were absolutely enjoying their job.

We had gone to the Cathedral as a group of men from our…

Low tide uncovers all sorts of hidden treasures. These great boulders were put here as part of the sea defences, and at high tide are completely covered. Only the surf shows their position- and that can look very hostile. What a place to live!

As the tide drops, it quickly becomes evident that the rocks have tenants… and the tenants have squatters.

Colonies of limpets cling with considerable force to the rock surface. Their grasp is strong enough to even withstand the storms: and at low tide they can make themselves into a “diving bell” that resists the sun’s heat and retains moisture within the shell.

On top of the limpets- amazing numbers of barnacles, living, feeding, breeding, and surviving in their harsh environment. The whole rock is covered with a living armour. It is home, larder, protection and a foundation.

Perhaps you thought the photo is a bit dull…