What do you think of, when you think of 3M?

The 3M Corporation that is. You know... the "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing" company?

Do you think of post-it notes?

Or (pretty-well ALL) road signs?

Nah.... you'll think of Scotch tape, eh?

Oh.. hang on.  Of course!

Face masks!

Amirite?

Currently, we have the utter, unbridled "joy" of living in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Bracknell and therefore very close to the UK base of 3M.

As a Bracknell resident for almost a decade now, I used to think of peregrines when I thought of 3M, as two birds (both falcon (female) and tiercel (male)) used to roost each night on a high ledge on the old 3M building in the centre of town - I used to watch them there regularly.

Now that the old 3M building has been pulled down and replaced by a block of flats (which to my eye doesn't look much different, skyline-wise) these birds of prey have taken to roosting on the nearby Fujitsu building on the outskirts of the town. 

3M still have their large UK HQ in Bracknell though, situated on a huge plot of land in the western industrial estate. This is where I'm teaching my eldest to ride his bike on roads and also forms part of my government-sanctioned 5 or 6 or 7 mile walk around the area. I walk as often as I can - you'll see me pushing our 1yo around in his buggy with my 7yo by my side very often, striding around the picturesque industrial estates of Bracknell!

Anyway... until yesterday... I used to think of peregrines when I thought of 3M.

Yesterday on my walk past the 3M "estate", I noticed something interesting.

Now when I think of 3M, I don't think of peregrines. Nor post-it notes. Nor road signs. Not even face masks. 

No.

Now when I think of 3M.... I think of bee orchids.

The bee orchid or Ophrys apifera is a wonderful wee plant that, in common with all its Ophrys cousins, mimics insects or spiders (a bee in this case, obviously) to attract pollinators.

Incidentally, the name of Ophrys literally means "eyebrow" - Pliny the Elder so-called these plants "eyebrow" plants as Roman women would use these plants to darken their eyebrows.

Have a lovely weekend.

TBR.