Bees are in trouble worldwide, declining rapidly due to climate change. It was a beautiful, Spring-like morning, and I was pleased to see so many bees buzzing all over my garden and our Dahlia garden. I used to be queasy around bees, but we have become pals since my garden bed arrived. They are around me all the time, I don’t seem to bother them a bit, and I am fascinated by the focus and perseverance.
They seem to know what I mean when I ask them to pose. The photography was rough this morning, there was a lot of wind and it was blowing the flowers all over the place. I said, “could you be still for a minute?” and some of them did.
I know bees are in trouble everywhere, and it was good to see them eating so heartily and looking so healthy. Maybe our gardens will save a few bee lives. I was hypnotized watching them and decided to devote today’s Photo Journal to bees at work. It was a pleasure for me.
This afternoon, I’m taking Maria out to the movies; we’re going to see the new David Bowie documentary in Williamstown, Mass., and then have some Mexican food afterward.
We have to organize for my daughter Emma and granddaughter Robin, who are coming to see us for the first time since the pandemic. Emma is a senior editor at the red-hot online sports site The Athletic (now owned by the New York Times. She and her husband, Jay – he covers baseball for a different location – are both workaholics, and as the baseball playoffs approach, they are working day and night and tending to a small child.
I know this is a tough time for her to leave, but we both were concerned about how much we needed to see each other. I think Robin is eager to get another look at the farm and me. I think she finds me a little mysterious. Welcome to the club. Maria is great with kids; they’ll have fun.
Jay is staying in Brooklyn to work (the daily column Jay sends me keeps me as well informed as I need to be about baseball. He is one of the journalists chosen to vote for Hall Of Fame candidates), I know it’s a rough time for Emma to leave, so I’m hoping the visit as easy, peaceful, and fun as possible. It’s a short visit; she and Robin get to do whatever they want.
I have a stack of books for Robin, a Robot to assemble with her, and an apple-picking farm to visit (Emma loves to make apple crisps). Robin says she wants to help Maria feed the animals and is eager to spend time with the dogs, who will be anxious to spend time with her.
I think she might connect with the donkeys this time. Maria is giving Emma her car while she’s here, but I doubt she’ll need it much. We’ll be driving her to and from the train station. I don’t expect to review the David Bowie movie. I don’t know much about him and his music.
I’m looking forward to learning about it.
I’m hanging out with bees, catching up with some research, and reading about St. Terese. I’m also practicing my ukelele.
It would be awful to see bees disappear, along with so many other species we depend on for food and the health of flowers and plants. It’s nice to think my flowers might be helping a bit. I would hate to live in a world without bees. This Photo Journal is dedicated to them. I’m excited about the weekend. Thanks for all the good messages about my ukelele. I have I finally have a supportive family out there.
Have a wonderful weekend with Emma and Robin!
I think the bees dying off is due to pesticides and a virus.
It’s due to many things; George, biologists say climate change is the biggest cause of death. You can Google it for yourself, I’m don’t argue things here. Scientists cite pesticides, drought, habitat destruction, nutrition deficit, air pollution and global warming as the major factors. Pesticides have been around for a long time; these other factors are newer and more deadly to bees.
Sorry you don’t respect rigorous research. After all this fake news w fmr president. Dogmatism and bulls,___ allow you to fool many suckers.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Bees+death&sort=date
There are good university Web sites which help you avoid fallacies.. oxford. …
Thanks, Bill. You’ll get over it, I hope…In fairness, I am not overly impressed by links that purport to be “rigorous” research instead of plain old research. I could send you 20 links back from academics who say different things about bees and anything else in the universe. I respect your respect for this one, but I don’t read links, I think they are too often used as a hiding place for people who don’t trust their own observations, research, or intuition. I’m sure this is good research. The research I cited was quite respectable also and quite different, and I suspect quite “rigorous.” I am not qualified to judge either of them; the fate of the bees is not a one-dimensional story, already politicized like everything else in America; there is no one source I know of that has a lock on it.
Have you watched My Garden of a Thousand Bees?? It is a must see!!
I haven’t but I’ll try to find it..
Jon, beautiful pics of the flowers and bees! Made me think – have you ever considered allowing a couple of beehives to be placed on your property? Many beekeepers are looking for lovely locations like yours & Maria’s to place beehives. The beekeepers bring the beehives and maintain them, you just provide the space 🙂 Something to consider.
I bet the Bees will soon have names.
Monarch butterflies have a hard time too, Jon. I planted a “butterfly bush” two years ago, and the monarchs showed up in mid-August even the first year. It grows about 4-5 feet high and maybe 2 1/2 feet wide with flowers the shape of a hot dog that are a striking purple color. Needs space but little or no care and is not unattractive when it begins to leaf out in spring. flowers take until August but last quite a while. Still blooming daily. And bees also seem to love it too once the flowers appear. Bees and monarchs fed side-by-side throughout August and September.