Portfolio work: This is a public domain book written by D. B. Casteel.
Bee Book: Seven
When viewed from the side, it is clear why it is called honeyCOMB!
Check out this young bee activist, Scarlet Harper of Winnetka, Illinois.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/save-the-bees-campaign-scarlett-harper/
Last week, a hungry Hummingbird was trying to get the last of the nectar from my Bergamot/Bee Balm flowers. All my flowers are drying up early this year due to the drought. I installed a hummingbird feeder that lights up at night like an all-night nectar diner.
Bee Book: Six
List of Pollinator Friendly Plants for your yard
Pick the right plants to attract native pollinators. By planting native plants in your area, you will attract native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. (Source)
The honeybees are working hard to collect nectar from the Echinacea in my garden. The native plants in my yard are drought tolerant.
Bee Book: Five
4000 native bee species in north America
1/4 species at risk of extinction
1/3 of your food is pollinated by bees.
Bees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops every year. (source)
Maps source: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MN
Bee Book: Four
Portfolio work: bee anatomy and leg work.
Shake a leg! The honeybee takes a short break and uses its hind legs to clean itself on a Cutleaf Cone Flower in my garden.
Bee Book: Three
Busy as a bee. There are 20,000 species of bees and wasps. That’s a lot! But only eleven of those species produce and store honey.
Bee Book: Two
Bee Book: One
Here is a new design for my portfolio. The book is from the public domain.
Southwest Salsa
We somehow managed to weave around snowstorms, rain, tornados and dust storms on our journey to the southwest.
Despite the challenges, it's worth it considering what we were escaping from. Back in Wisconsin–still in the dead of winter, the senses are not satisfied. Trees lie dormant, flowers and shrubs are covered in a thick blanket of snow. When it's really cold even the birds and critters that remain become dormant too. There is no sound or smell outside for weeks. By spring, the persistent cold has kept the snow around for months–everything looks drab and dirty. The dim winter sun is just starting to wake up again.
By the time we make it to Arizona our mouths are salivating for salsa, our eyes squint in the southwest sun, our nostrils drink the fragrance of sage bush from the air, and our ears fill with the sounds of local birds and creatures. The change to the southwest climate is a blast to the senses. And this is why we come back again and again.