Beautiful Bees

Honey bees are often misunderstood. An immediate reaction for many people is to be afraid of all bee or bee-like creatures. However, for the gardener, honey bees are (or should be) most welcomed creatures. After all, without bees and other polinating buzzers we people would have to do a lot of extra work to get those flowers and vegetables! Have you ever stood with a teeny tiny paint brush next to a tomato plant polinating your own flowers? If you have, then you most certainly appreciate their work!

So for the past two years I have been quite blessed to have my own beehive. This is a natural hive in my big oak tree. It's about 60 feet up in the air and poses no threat to anyone or anything. Now if you climb the tree and start poking the hive with a big stick, then you might have reason to be concerned but, hey, if someone started bashing holes in your home, you might get upset too!

So I've been watch the changing seasons of this hive and the different cycles bees go through and, wow, it is quite fascinating. Now I'm not the "bee all" and end all of bees by any means. There is much I'm sure I don't know, but I do know enough to know that these bees are docile bees, not Africanized bees (the real aggressive meanies). I also know that if a bee purposefully flies into you (bumping you upside the head or body) that it is a warning to back up slowly and get away. However, this has never happened with my bees and I think it's probably an Africanized bee behavior.

Anyway...I could probably bore you with all my bee talk, so let me jump to the point. My flower and veggie/fruit proliferation has shot way up since my little bees arrived. They work wonders for the garden. So let's remember to appreciate this God-created wonder of bees. As bee populations have been declining, both in the wild and in captivity, let me rejoice that my backyard can be a host to these busy bees!

~

Beautiful bees, find my flowers please

Buzz, buzz, buzz little fuzz

Work, work, work all the day

And help me garden the natural way!