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178.

For notes on 14th-22nd March 1949 see p.176- ante!

22nd March. 

First red, garden, Mossy Saxifrage flowers opened, though in bud for nearly a month.  Draba hirta in front garden in flower since 19th & this brought from top of wall at Holywood ry. station about 1912! 

Shoots of Saussurea alpina from Brandon Mt. up on 20th in back garden.  Scottish  Sax. opp. & that from Glenade Leitrim (both my own pink form & one given me in 1946 by R.C. Faris) flowered & all are the large flowered form.   Leaf-buds on Scottish Salix reticulata unfolding on 22nd & Scottish Salix arbuscula & Faris's curious Salix repens X from Glenade with buds swelling & very silvery. 

Vaccinium uliginosum from Scotland also opening leaf-buds & signs of growth on many plants as milder conditions with some misty rain came on 20th-22d.

Fed snails for first time this year on 20th-21st & 22nd!  

In afternoon of 22nd saw a ♀︎ Vespa rufa (var. like austriaca!) crawling about on a clump of Mossy Saxifrage in back garden.  

By 11 P.M. temperature over 50 out of doors & no wind whatever.

[Marcus Graham reported seeing a ♀︎ Halictus rubicundus on Dandelion on top of cliffs at Loughshinny, near Rush, Co. DU. on 20th March!]


179.

23rd March 1949. 

A lovely calm morning, dull, very mild, with sun breaking through clouds before noon.  Spent morning top-dressing the Brandon Mt. mossy saxifrages!  At 10.40 a Bumble Bee flew down garden behind me & I just turned in time to see it go over wall into Ellis's:  it was either B. lucorum or terrestris, but I could not see colour of tail.   At 11 AM. the ♀︎ Vespa rufa seen on 22nd was washing its face on same clump of Galtee mossy sax. as before, by 11.30 it had disappeared.  About 12.15 Daisy saw a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly in back garden & I saw it at 12.30, when I also saw a Hover Fly (like S. ribesii, but ?) investigating the old cabbage.

In afternoon rode on bikes to Glenasmole & walked across lower dam & up through scrub to head of 1st coomb on east side of lower reservoir, where lots of Primroses, Viola Reichenbachiana & a few Wood Anemones in flower. Willows just about their best & at Bohernabreena saw 1♀︎ B. jonellus, & above Mrs. Doyle's saw 2♀︎♀︎ B. lucorum on Salix, but as afternoon entirely dull saw no other bees.  Heard no Chiffchaff!

Much Blackthorn out here & there.


24th March 1949. 

A most perfect day!  Entirely sunny after 9 A.M. & very hot sun too, with light E. breeze.  In afternoon rode on bikes to Killeen & walked up Grand Canal to Clondalkin Bridge & then rode home.  Petasites vulgaris in flower by canal in several places, & some willows by Camac River nearly over.

Transcription Notes:
Town mentioned near end of first page: handwriting looks like "Rash" but it is "Rush"