Yeah, I am THAT person. Helping bugs or whatever wildlife crossing my path that needs help.
Every morning, as I walk down the path to feed the critters, the hum of morning bees surrounds me. The ankle-high flowering stalks of morning dew-coated narrow leaf plantain slap my passing Wellies. As they do so, the little bees gathering morning pollen hang tightly onto the swaying flower heads. Sometimes dislodged as I pass by, they buzz around, slightly annoyed at the rough interruption, and resume their morning ritual on another flower stalk. The buzzing bees hum a daily musical score, harmonizing with birds, crickets, frogs, and cicadas.
One morning, the field was full of bees, intent on harvesting the pollen. One little bee was walking slowly across my deck. When I went into the house to get my phone to take a picture, I returned to discover he had fallen off the step and was lying on his back. I righted him, took his picture, and left him to get on my cell phone to carry him down the stairs to the rose bushes. Before we reached them, he fell into the grass, so I gave him a clover flower for sustenance and left him to whatever was next. He had water on the blades of grass. I wished him good luck.
I don’t know what was wrong with him; he could have been nearing the end of his little bee life, or he could have been suffering from contact with pesticides. Bees are vital in our world. Crop production and pollination by bees are directly connected. Where would we “bee” without them – no honey, no food, no flowers. Loss of clean (pesticide-free) habitat to forage and having to rely on supplements for sustenance are detrimental to bees. Poor nutrition can lead to stress, parasites, and bee colony collapse.
I didn’t really have a garden this year – thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Groundhog and their family for that! But, I never spray pesticides and try to be as natural as possible.
As you walk through the grasses early morning or anytime during the day, listen, look around, and enjoy the music of the bees and think about the work that they are doing for themselves and the planet.
All is well at Mountain Meadows, and just humming along…
