Saturday, March 10, 2007
Snow Bees
I heard the sound as soon as I let myself in through the garden gate this morning; a rising and lowering hum... the sound of hundreds of bees, busily grazing the large patches of snowdrops that have opened their sweetly perfumed bells in the warm March sunshine. The earth is still frozen solid except for a slippery skin of mud, so how these busy little buzzers get out of their burrows, and how they find my snowdrops, is a nice little mystery to ponder. This is the first truly pleasant day that we've had, and I would suspect that this early there is not another flower blooming within a square mile of our garden. The bees must send out a few scouts on the first inkling of a warm day, and they report back if they find anything... I can imagine the excitement today when the scouts flew back, covered with snowdrop pollen. Our bees here are therefore a priviliged bunch; I've not, however, noted any particular gratitude on their part on those occasions when I've accidentally dug into one of their nests. What a fine sight it is, though, to see them on an early March morning, burying themselves in the pale flowers of the snowdrops, when patches of snow still lie all about... they are snow bees.
// posted by IBOY @ 2:52 PM 
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How cool -- I didn't see any bees when I was out for my run today, but I surely appreciated the weather! That's a great photo. Hooray for the bees!
# posted by 
: March 10, 2007
: March 10, 2007
Actually, I'm taking a liberty, since yellowjackets are really wasps, not bees, but "snow wasps' just didn't have the right ring to it.
Don
Don
Fascinating picture! I don't envy you the yellow jackets, though...yikes about the nests! "...large patches of snowdrops"...in my dreams! One day!
Nature is so Grand, reading your post is what I needed today while I eat my lunch in my desk at work on a very busy Monday. Thanks
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