Bees and More Bees

I love the colors in this shot!

The Bee's Knees

Macro photography is the hardest type of photography that I've tried! Without a tripod it's almost impossible to get a good shot that isn't blurred. I've found that using the camera's manual focus instead of the auto focus, I get much better macro shots. Of course you have to get close to your subject, which makes taking macro shots of bees kind of scary. Thank goodness this one didn't seem to mind :0)

I didn't realize there was a bee hovering in front of this sunflower until I uploaded the picture to my computer :0)

"Bee to the blossom, moth to the flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name?" ~ Helen Hunt Jackson

Sunflower Lunch

Notice the pollen on the bee's legs.

Timing Is Everything!

I love having a lot of flowers in the garden because they attract bees. In turn the bees reward us by pollinating our garden veggies. It's a win win situation :0) Thought I would update everyone on the baby sparrow that was in a nest in one of our hanging flower baskets. Timing is everything. I happened to be watering our hanging baskets when I noticed our cat, Libby, stalking something in the yard. I immediately knew what she was after. Turns out the baby sparrow had left the nest and was hopping on the ground. I dropped the hose and ran to Libby. I grabbed her up and locked her up in the garage until I could get the baby bird to a safe place. I just hope the mamma sparrow finds him or her. I knew it was a matter of time before the baby left the nest. He or she was way too big for the nest.

Bees & Lilies

Swarm, Swarm!

I looked out our back door this morning and noticed a swarm of
hundreds of honey bees. I've never seen so many bees in one place
at one time in my life. They were swarming around an evergreen
bush near our garden and iris garden. I went in and grabbed my
camera. I took these shots with my long lens because I didn't want
to get any closer than I had to. I took this shot from our garage
door window. It was a pretty amazing sight!






Here's a close up of the colony. I sent these
pictures to my husband, Terry. He used to
work with a bee keeper, Bo Smith, at WWL
in Smyrna, TN. We used to buy honey from
him. Terry gave Bo a call and Bo said the
swarm will move on once the scout bees find
a new home for them. He suggested we call the
Smith County Extension office and they can
probably give us a name of a local beekeeper
who will come out and round them up for us
and set up a new hive. Terry is waiting to hear
back from them, so stayed tuned!

Update on our bee colony...Ronnie Bussell, a local
bee keeper here in Smith County came by the house
this afternoon with his bee keeping gear. By the time
he got here the colony had moved on. It was very
interesting talking to him about bee keeping and bees.
I was hoping the colony would still be here when he got
here so I could watch him work. Oh well, at least I can
mow now without fear of being stung :0)

Summer Postcards

The Bees Knees

The meaning of the phrase "The bee's knees "

Bee in Flight

Deciphering the Mystery of Bee Flight

A little sidenote...Elvis Presley died 33 years ago today. It's hard to believe it's been that long! I was 18 and had just graduated high school :) RIP Elvis!

Butterfly and Friend Part II

Busy Bee

“The busy bee has no time for sorrow.” ~ William Blake

The Sunflowers are Here!

My favorite flower of all time! These big guys really brighten
up the garden. You can't help but smile when you see them.
The bees love them too.

Flower Critters

I love the color contrast of this white moth and the red
and purple flowers!


Tiny bee inside one of our garden flowers


It would be kind of cool to be small enough to fit inside a
flower :)

Redbud

One of my favorite trees of spring is the Redbud. This beautiful
Redbud tree is in our neighbor's yard.




The Carpenter bees love it!

Bees, Flies and Berries

Bees and flies were sharing this squished pear in our neighbor's
yard. The picture is kind of gnarly, but interesting.


I can't wait for wrens to take up residence in our birdhouse!
My countdown to Spring has already begun.


Beautiful bush with red berries in our neighbor's yard.


Our Nandinas in their fall colors.