Yesterday while working in my garden I heard a lot of buzzing coming from the poppies-i kept working and the noise was still there-5 minutes and it was a buzzzzzzzzin. So i followed the noise to a red poppy and there inside was a lil honey bee all covered in yellow pollen slippin n slidin on the flower petals-stuck! I lowered the flower and he fell onto the leaves-he was so yellow. I sat and watched him clean the pollen off his body and add it to the pollen sacks on his legs-looked like a full load!! But he kept on packing it on-he can turn his wings and get his legs in them-it was so neat! he left a little pollen on the leaf he was on...but he did his best to scrap even that up with his lil feet or whatever they are. I think I could hear whinney the pooh in the back ground!!;]
It was very interesting to me to watch him-I hope we all can take a lil time and watch the wildlife(not so wild)in our gardens!
honey bee rescue
Loved your story, Dori. :o) Yesterday, I was tickled watching the bumblebees browsing the lamium. The lamium blooms have sort of tubular shapes, and the smaller bumblers would climb waaaay up inside the blooms, with only their little black behinds sticking out. The blooms wiggled and swayed until the bees backed out again. It was so neat! :o)
Dori and GW
Glad I'm not the only one who does things like that. I love just sitting and watching things in the garden.
Calalily
Reading these stories was a really nice way to start my Saturday. Thanks for telling them. Now ... to the back yard ... I'm inspired !
When to a sale the first of May and bought 8 hives just to put in the back yard for looks. In the first couple of days I saw a few bees checking them out they were used and had a honey smell to them. Over the past month my beehives have gotten new vistors and I have a swarm come to my house it just like watching jetliners arrive and depart see them come and go it is wonderful they are several hundred and they are very friendly to me. I have always had good gardens but this year is the best its thanks to my new friends the honeybees dont know much about them yet but Im learning.
P.S. Ha dave what about a bee forum it would be great for the gardeners. Thanks your friend Cash in Bixby, Okla.
For some real fun. Set next to but off to the side of a hive. About 11 am or so, there will be a mass of bees flying around the front of the hive. Now watch close as this is flight school! One would think that bee know how to fly, not so ! They tumble, stop in flight (and fall) land on the hive but not put out their claws, so that they slide down the wood. All kinds of silly things
Gardening without bees is like gardening without compost, it can be done but they add so much !
Stonycroft: You are right it is so much fun to watch the bees, this has been a great learning chapter in my gardening carrer. We also have to compost area's in are backyard/garden live dosen't get any better. I so enjoy my bees. Cash, in the garden spot of Okla., Bixby