Back in 2003 I chased around the lavender - best I could do then! But not now..!
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Lavender methinks.
I felt in my mind that it wasnât Lilac but the right name wouldnât come to mind! Thereâs a huge Lilac bush in my other garden, but no Lavender.
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Whether itâs lavender or lilac, youâre never too old to chase around it! 
p.s. Super photos
I just found this little critter biting into my waistline as I emerged from our hot tub. This tick must have been there three or four days but I dismissed it as a small blister. (sorry for the quality but I only had my phone and it was very small)
Doesnât look blown up hugely, so may well be fine. Watch the bite and if it starts to develop into a bulls eye hot-foot it to your doc.
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My wife was bitten by something on the back of a calf on Monday while we were out walking. It itched and bled a little, then pretty much disappeared for a day or so before turning red and itchy again on Wednesday. I was concerned it might be a Blandford fly bite - I had one on my ankle about 5 years ago and the area is still dark, although the lump below the skin is beginning to disperse at last. Went to the doctor with it at the time and got an English Gallic shrug.
Photo of blurry tick among such wonderful wildlife photos opens the way for me to post our blurry bat. Just got new camera (last one died from earwigs) so pleased to confirm bats in our attic
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I have related somewhere recently, canât remember the thread now, of the pair of what I call Pretend Wasps, which been building a small papier mache nest in the top outside corner of my post box. They have allowed me to reach in for my mail and in return I speak to them softly and close the door gently making sure that neither of them gets caught in the door as it closes.
Yesterday was different.The nest seemed larger and I think there were more of them now. Something else changed, two of them flew out and headed straight towards me to the extent that I jumped back in alarm. Too slow, I felt a sharp prick on my left hand, on the back of it towards the left, just behind the little finger. Not too painful, within 10 minutes it had gone almost completely but there was a barely discernable puffiness around the site.
I had to move further back then, without my parcel, still in the open box, because 2 of them were heading straight for me in a very threatening manner, buzzing round my head and I was fearful for my eyes. 2 metres away now I darenât go closer and instead went to search for a twig, first a short one with which I darted forward and flicked the nest. It broke free but headed for the back corner of the box, so then I took a longer stick, hooked at the end and flicked the nest out. This did not stop them however as you would imagine. Finally with 2 separate lunges I rescued the parcel and then another to close the door. I retreated leaving the area to the 2 or 3 insects still circling the spot.
I felt very sad though because I had felt we had a sort of understanding, moving slow, speaking lowly and gently closing the door with out interference and my care was respected, so I thought.
Later in the day the back of my hand continued to swell and by the time I met Beatrice for our delayed kine resumption at 5pm, it was swollen all over as far as the wrist.
I have been stung before by these âwaspsâ, they tend to nest in crevices between door and post of the car so have been accidentally alerted from time to time, but I call them pretend wasps, less ferocious lookalikes, so I was not worried yesterday especially as the weak pain disappeared almost immediately. Today I am not so sure, the hand is really swollen now, holding the 2 together they seem to belong to different people. One is a fat ladyâs hand, the other an old manâs. The one smooth and round with knuckles barely visible, the other wrinkly, with clear sight of raised blood vessels, bones and tendons with knuckles clearly seen.
Still no pain, just an irritating itchiness. I think a visit to the pharmacy is called for this afternoon. Does anyone know if there is a French word for these kinds of wasps, clearly guepe is not enough?
Ugh horrible poor you, I donât know what specific wasp they are - I know exactly about the hand swelling up and looking like a babyâs hand, and the itchiness. Might an antihistamine help?
I donât know, I thought those were more for recurring things like hay fever. There must be a special name for these creatures, they imitate wasps, as a warning, but are nowhere near as painful. More research before the pharmacie I think. Canât wait for a doctor, not urgent enough for 15.
Antihistamines work for allergies and stings AFAIK. OH takes them if he has a bad mozzie bite.
Itâs definitely an allergic reaction; the pharmacist should have what you need, especially for any future sting. Be careful about swimming in open water too â watch out for leptospirosis and other dangerous pathogens !
If the nest is now larger you were possibly getting too close to it? Paper wasps arenât aggressive but will sting if they feel you are threatening their nest/queen.
Yes, NHS said they were a possibility but also said that the best thing to do was wrap the hand in a cold wet bandage, I have used the sort of gloves used here as flannels. It is improving now after my first 28 metres in the pond, 18c at the moment.
@Juliet Cutting out one of the last enjoyable pursuits of my life now, wild swimming, is not on offer. If it is dangerous, and I do take precautions against ingesting the water as much as possible but everybody has some danger in life, be it mountain climbing , sky diving, fast cars or motorbikes or even fast women, many of which I have long given up, so I will continue with this last one. 
@JaneJones Yes I think you are right, the incident had all the hallmarks of defence of a perceived danger. Regrettable that I had to do away with it though but I was already worried that the postman/woman might get stung so its days were numbered. I really hate killing anything that is no great danger and, sorry to say, this had tipped over the line.
Thereâs something lurking or nesting and/or having babies, baby spiders I think, in the inside top of my post-box. Donât know what kind of spider, so shall call it a post-box spider. Havenât seen anything moving yet but the web complex is growing.
Shanât disturb it until it prevents letters from dropping in through the top.
Reddish ants were starting to group inside and a small patrol of them would run out and stand guard whenever I opened the door. Leaving the door open for a couple of days saw them off.
Wild life everywhere! If you double click the photo you will see white âblobsâ hanging inside the web - either baby-spider cocoons, or food?
Just playing around with my new camera lens taking a photo of the garden gate latch holder, and saw, later on in the computer, a little hole, arrowed at the bottom of the photo. Went back for a closer look and saw something lurking!
More wild life in the garden - comes in all sizes.
Perhaps a funnel web spider?
A stowaway perhaps. I believe there is a cobra on the loose in Castelginest.
Think it would have to be, but canât find much info, except that there are around 1,700 species of spiders in France. And no doubt a number of different tunnel web spider species â mineâs a small one!
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