Meanwhile, on the ground

What I consider my ground covers are doing their thing. Since I want the violets where they are, they’re not weeds, they’re wildflowers. The ajuga come from a six pack that I planted years ago, and after much coddling are finally looking good. The strawberries are only a couple years old, and happily spreading. This […]

Bees in the trees

The bees are in the trees, It’s a happy, buzzing breeze, Cause the bees are in the trees, And the pear blossoms are pleased, Down in the earth, up to the leaves, The miner bees are in the trees.

Bees high and low

So the bees flying around the top of the butterfly bush aren’t miner bees after all. The miner bees are somewhere else.

Fun stuff

Today’s “fun” task was to finally tackle our taxes. No, it wasn’t. Today’s fun task was to hack down the deader parts of the butterfly bush, while lots of what sure looked like little reddish brown bees swirled around the dried out buds. Lots of them. I think they’re miner bees, but they didn’t find […]

Bees are up!

First I saw sunlight catching on insects flying over the garden, but I wasn’t sure I saw anything big enough. Then I definitely caught sight of yellow and black stripes. I walked over to the crocuses and heard that old, familar buzz. And there she was, the first bee of the year! She’s definitely a […]

Goldenrod for a lazy bee

We went out for dim sum today, and I feel as lazy as a bee hanging on the goldenrod with a faceful of flower. This is a Carpenter bee, and you know it’s a male because of the light spot on his face. He was so sleepy, I could move the goldenrod to an easier […]

Ad astera per apis

The asters in flower are framing the hill, in a swath of lilac cloud flowing across the top and sides. All of September, the honeybees were swooning over the sedum, and the bumbles had the asters to themselves. I’ve been trying to get a good picture of a bumble for a month now, but they […]

Sedum Autumn Joy, Full of Bees

“Autumn Joy” pink sedum is one of the easiest ways to feed your bees. It’s one of those plants that you only have to plant once. Just pick a sunny spot and it will thrive. And every autumn, it will put up pink balls of flowers. If there are any honeybees around, they will find […]

Return of the Wool Carder bee

Another bee that I’ve been looking for has turned up: the Wool Carder bee. They’re called Wool Carders because the females gather the fuzz from hairy leaves to line their nests. Like the honeybee, they’re not natives, but an introduced bee from Europe. Unlike the honeybee, they tend to stick to Old World flowers. Mine […]

Black Bees in the Squash Blossoms

I made sure to plant squash for the squash bees. Instead of squash bees, I found another bee I’ve been looking for.