Wind, Bees and Flowers!

  The area was supposed to get a lot of rain last night and today.  Areas around us did...we did not.  We got wind. Tonight, thankfully, thunder rolls and showers come and go.  I am ready for a good soaking rain on the gardens.  If this happens, a couple of hundred little plants will be set in their "growing" spots in the morning.  The cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli plants really need to be spaced a bit further apart than I had sowed the seeds but it would have been pointless to transplant them during the drought.  So...we (the plants and I) wait on the rain.

  This morning, I headed to the pier to check the skiff and any fishing gear.  The winds were picking up a bit so it is better to take care of things before it gets too rough.  It was on that quick dash that I had to stop and watch a bee.  Yep, even during iffy weather, I watch the critters.  At the end of the pier, there is a lovely groundsel bush with its poofy white blossoms.  Right in the midst of the bush, there was a single goldenrod branch. I had stopped to admire the beautiful "floral arrangement" when I noticed another goldenrod branch had tilted over the end of the pier.  That was where I found my lovely, little friend.  The bee was hunkered down among the flowers to escape the wind.  While the blooms gave the bee something to grasp, it was still having a wild ride.  The whole thing was bouncing around with each gust.  At one point, the wind lulled and I was able to photograph the bee.  The bee, however, had a different idea.  After just one picture, it up and flew to the oak tree and nestled in among the lichens.  There, it would be safe from the whipping winds.  And I headed back up the hill to the Little Bayou House.

No One Will Notice

   If one is watchful on hikes during the early morning hours, a lot can be learned...not only about the wildlife encountered but, also, about life in general.  This enlightening can be applied to oneself, as well.  Take this morning, for instance.  As I meandered the Small Gardens, I had to stop and admire the goldenrod.  (Yes, I am one of those gardeners that lets thing grow wild and free.  Since goldenrod is quite lovely, it is allowed a spot in the gardens.)  The admiration led to the discovery of a small bee nestled deep in the blooms.  This bee was not "busy".  In fact, the tiny critter was still asleep.  (Yes, bees do sleep.)  The coolness of the morn had left it a bit groggy so, until the sun could warm it, the bee would remain idle.  

 Watching the bee and not wanting to disturb it, I left it as I found it.  Bees need rest.  We need rest.  I keep having to remind myself that selfcare is a thing and it is highly important.  Working myself to a frazzle each day is taking its toll on my body and mind.  Hopefully, there will come a time soon that the chores can be shifted aside and I can apply a little selfcare.  The bee, this morning, was simply a reminder that not everything has to be completed during my lifetime.  If it is....no one will notice.  If it is not...no one will notice.  Just that...no one will notice.

Tiny Golden Britches!

  The other day as I watered the garden patch, I pondered why squash plants were not considered to be some elaborate, sought after plant for flower gardens.  The leaves are attractive, the blooms are exquisite and the plants are relatively easy to grow.  Then as an added benefit, you get squash to eat!  It seems to me that everyone should plant squash!  In fact, even though I have two rows in the vegetable plot, I opted to plant a dozen more plants in front of the moonflower fence!  I figured the bright yellow blooms would look right nice with the backdrop of large, white moonflower blooms!

  Then a day later, the blooms caught my eye again.  This time, it was because a bee was busying itself inside the blossom.  The fat, little bee was collecting so much pollen that it appeared to be covered with gold dust!  The once solid black bee had on pollen pants!  Seeing this gave me another reason to love squash.  

  Our pollen-collecting bees (of all types) are being put in danger on a daily basis and I am not referring to the so-called "murder hornet" (don't even get me started on the media hype about that!).  People are putting the bees in danger by using so many insecticides.  Yep, I am in a tizzy about the caterpillars on my four o'clock leaves but I am sure not going to douse everything with insecticides.  The sprays are not discriminate to the point that they kill only certain "pests" and not the beneficial insects.  I figure if the caterpillars stay on the four o'clock leaves perhaps they will forgo the tomato plants.  Also, I am depending on the lizards, wrens and ground wasps to do their jobs!   That way, I can enjoy watching the bees pollinate my lovely squash and the bees will not be in peril.

The "Fighting Breakfast"!

  Here on the Bayou, life pretty much goes on as it always has despite being quarantined.  I have not left the place and do not plan on leaving for probably a month or so.  There is plenty of food in the house or garden or Bayou, we are always well stocked on life's necessities and there is more than enough chores to keep me occupied.  In fact, recently, I was told that I have been "in training" for this type of scenario my whole life.  Well, my response to that is "If you call being self-sufficient as training, then I guess I have been".  Growing up on the farm, living on the Coast and being a bit of a "loner" has taught me well.  Farming gives one a "can do" attitude, living on the Coast that has hurricanes requires one to be prepared and loving to be by myself has led me to be easily amused by what is around me.  So, life goes on...as usual.

  Today's amusement came in the form of a lizard.  There are dozens of green anoles that live in or around the garden area.  The idea of having so many delights me as I know they will keep down the garden pests.  I am all for having lizards of any sort hiding amongst the plants.  This morning as I planted yet more tomatoes, a lizard could be seen stalking something in the garlic patch.  This is a raised bed that once held herbs but has been now taken over by garlic and onions.  The lizard slowly inched toward the fence post attached to the raise bed.  Then...zap!  The lizard had its prey!...and a fight ensued.  

  The lizard had decided that a bee looked like breakfast.  Well, lets just say that the bee did not take lightly to being munched.  The lizard twisted this way and that as it tried to swallow the bee.  The bee, in the meantime, twisted this way and that trying to avoid being swallowed.  Suddenly, the lizard jerked back and almost gagged.  The bee, in its fury, had stung the lizard!  It is a scary thing when your breakfast fights back so violently!  Still, the lizard refused to lose its prey and kept on trying to swallow the squirmy bee.

  While I was saddened to see that the lizard had actually caught a bee, I was delighted to know it was on watch.  It had, indeed, caught a critter out of the garden.  Too bad it was not one of those dreaded squash bugs!  Tighten Up, Lizard!!

More than usual

  Perhaps it is due to our lack of winter this past year or perhaps there is a different reason but I have come across more than the usual number of Cow Killers this summer.  Cow Killers are what Pop always called the Red Velvet Ants that could be found racing around the fields in the late summer.  He would give us a stern warning to leave the critters be as their sting could "nigh on kill a cow".  Not really but, to be honest, they do pack a wallop.  I have only been stung once and that was quite enough!  That sting was due purely to my bumbling and was not entirely the Cow Killer's fault.  I was weeding and inadvertently grabbed the critter.  I became aware of her presence only when she had enough of my clumsiness and gave me a lovely sting.  It hurt.  It did not kill me (maybe only because I am not a bovine.)  I was recently reading an article that stated that the Red Velvet Ants were presenting a problem in some towns and folks were wanting help in eradicating them. "Dozens of local people have been stung and this has got to stop!" was the claim of one person that was interviewed.  Ha!  What next? This bit of  Red Velvet Ants terrorizing the neighborhoods is a tad ridiculous as my kids played with the bugs when they were kids...as did I.  All the critter wanted to do was escape to continue her mad dash in search of a suitable nesting site.

  The Cow Killer or Red Velvet Ant is not even an ant.  It is a bee. To be more correct, it is a female bee.  The male is rarely seen as it is far more inconspicuous than the brightly colored female.  Plus, the male has wings whereas the female is bound to the earth.  She runs about willynilly in search of a a hole in the ground that indicates a nesting site of a bumblebee or digger wasp.  She will then lay her egg in  the underground hive.  When the egg hatches the larva feeds upon the other bee larva.  Mama Cow Killer does not have to hunt to feed her little ones.  She merely lets them be parasites on their neighbors.

  While out and about the hillside this week, I have noticed that there are hundreds of these Red Velvet Ants running about the place. (They are so quick that it is difficult to get a decent photograph of them!)  If our winter is warm again this year, I can only imagine how many will be found next summer.  In the meantime, I better start wearing shoes as I roam about the place.  Although I think these critters are beautiful and I have no desire to kill them, I sure do not relish another sting!  

The Bee Post

  The posts on the pier each have several holes drilled all the way through to the other side.  These were at one time used as bolt holes when the posts were used at a harbor.  Now that the posts hold our pier, the holes sit empty...most of the time.  During the late fall, woodpeckers fill the holes with acorns and then at other times, spiders use the holes as hiding spots.  Yesterday, I noticed a bee fly to one post and crawl inside such a hole.  I pondered just what the bee was doing so I eased over to watch a bit closer.  The bee would disappear towards the shoreline for about ten minutes then be back at the post.  Each trip saw it carrying a tidbit of a leaf.  The bee was making a nice nest in the hole and was lining it with scraps of leaves.

  These bees are a type commonly called Leafcutter Bees...imagine that! The female works hard to cut leaves to line her nest before she lays a single egg inside the tunnel.  While that is miraculous enough in itself, the fact that she also carries pollen is pretty extreme. The pollen that she collects is packed into the nest and then she lays a single egg before sealing the tunnel.  Once the egg hatches, the larvae feasts upon the foodstuffs, grows, moults and then weaves a cocoon.  There it pupates until it comes time for it to emerge as an adult.  The whole life of a female Leafcutter Bee is spent making nests and gathering pollen.  Life goes on.

  We normally think that only Honeybees collect pollen but in reality, a myriad of other bees do as well.  The Leafcutter Bee actually makes more trips to carry pollen than any other bee.  The bee sort of "swims" in the bloom making it release more pollen.  Then, since the pollen is "dry-carried", it is more easily dusted onto other blooms.  This increases pollination and makes the bee highly beneficial to gardeners. 

  I watched the little busy bee as she made trip after trip from shore to post.  Her aim was to create a nice snug nest that was far out of the way of many predators.  Smart thinking, Little Bee!

Struggles

  We all have our ups and downs and we deal with them...or most of us do. Some things come and others go.  Life here on the Bayou is no different than anywhere else beyond the obvious slower pace and natural surroundings.  An easy life is never promised to any of us..as is life in general. To a certain extent, we all struggle on a daily basis.  

  While out and about the hillside, I find a lot of things interesting. Whether this is a plant that I do not recognize or perhaps a nest of baby rabbits, I figure that things are here for a reason.  Today's find drove home that idea of a struggle with life.  A nest of baby mockingbirds with their first glimpse of the world should be a happy occasion but, if one sits and watches, you will see the constant effort of the parent birds to find sustenance for the hungry mouths that await in the nest.  That strain is multiplied greatly by the ever present danger from predators. Cats, hawks, crows, snakes, even squirrels present a danger to those defenseless babes.  The parent birds protect to the best of their ability and usually do a grand job.  The ravenous tykes are fed and the cycle of life continues.  Life begins anew.

  Also, an unusual find.  Dangling from the leaf of a petunia plant was the lifeless body of a bee.  It precariously wafted in the breeze at first making me think that the bee was actually just visiting the blooms.  A closer look revealed that the bee had somehow met its demise.  With a food source so close at hand, the bee must have just played out its life. No chemical sprays have ever touched the petunias where this guy was feasting so unless he picked up something elsewhere, I rest assured that sprays did not harm the critter.  Life ended.

  Some come....some go and life continues.

Blue Pickerels, Bees and Small Blessings

  Meandering about the hillside today enjoying the warm weather, my sister-in-law and I noticed that most of the pond plants had met their demise with the recent cold spell.  The water hyacinths looked pretty bad indeed!  Their leaves were all shriveled and brown.  A few were obviously blooming when the temperatures dropped below freezing. The flowers were still there but were now a brown, slimy mess instead of the lovely purple that they usually are. Overall, the pond looks bad...really bad and smelled worse!  As soon as I get caught up on other chores, the thing will receive one last, good cleaning before I let it rest for winter. The dragonfly larvae will hunker down among the roots of the water lilies and hyacinths and ride out the cold weather.

  With all the brown in the garden, the lone blue pickerel bloom stood out like a sore thumb.  Why this plant survived is beyond me.  Granted it was a pathetic specimen of a bloom, it was still a bright spot in the midst of yuck! It was perfect for the occasion.  The flower was all that was needed.  On closer inspection, I found that Cynthia and I were not the only ones who found the flower.  A bee was working the pollen to find a bit to eat.  This brought up another question.  How did that bee survive the freeze?  

  These occurrences made me ponder the odds of coincidences.  That lone bee was out buzzing about the garden in search of a food source and came across the lone bloom.  How unusual is that?  It was sort of like it was meant to be.  God knew His critter would be needing a bit of nourishment and popped that flower into bloom.  Hmmm?  Yep, just like He knows when we need spiritual nourishment, it is always there.  We just need to look around. Blessings abound where we least expect.

Winifred!

Trying to beat the heat, Michael and I were out early this morning.  We had work to attend so there was no lazy trip to the pier!  He and I are cleaning up a bunch of mess that has laid more or less unnoticed since the last hurricane. Now these boards are the home of some billion or so termites.  Not a happy thought by far!  He and I are ridding the hillside of rotted wood and in the process also killing a few of the wicked insects that try to eat the Little Bayou House.  While dragging a large piece of plywood, he suddenly stopped and pointed at a nandina bush.  Ok..so I admit that I have poor eyesight but for the life of me, I could not see anything except the bush!  Yep!  That is a nice bush, Michael!  He grinned and pointed a bit closer.  Still nothing came into my view.  In my defense, though, the sun was at the perfect angle to throw a nice glare on the bush from where I was standing.  So I only saw "bright".  He finally put his hand right in the leaves.  Ahh, I see it....MICHAEL, THAT IS A BEE!  He looked at me incredulously...ummm.."Yep, you are right. I was showing you a bee."  Well, if my son took the time to show me a bee, I had better look at it a bit closer!

Well, now why did he not explain why he was pointing at this bee?  When I stepped closer I could see that the bee (or I suppose wasp) was trying to carry a bug that was much larger than itself.  That did indeed make this a tad interesting.  We decided the boards could wait a bit while we watched the progress of the bee/wasp thingy.  Since we were becoming quite familiar with said wasp, I decided to name her.  (And, yes, it was a her!)  Winifred!  Winifred Wasp!  Yep, that sounded rather nice!  Michael looked at me and got a funny grin on his face.."Only you, Mom, only you."  Hey, if I claim to be friends with the Bayou Critters, they have to have names..Winifred does not mind!  By this time Winifred had the grasshopper in a tight hold and was attempting to get airborne.  She buzzed and buzzed but the fat grasshopper was mighty heavy.  Finally, she took to the air!  I thought sure we had seen the last of Winifred but then she made a u-turn and came right back towards us. Uh oh!  She buzzed past us and to the porch.  Landing with a thud, she dropped her prey.  That was a long flight!  The nandina bush is nearly ten feet from the porch!

After resting a few minutes, Winifred, once again, grasped her grasshopper.  She was off again but this time only a matter of inches.  Winifred was trying to poke the grasshopper into a hole that a carpenter bee had drilled.  Ahh, Winifred believes in recycling!  I was beginning to really like Winifred!!  She is a pretty smart bee..err..wasp! (In all fairness, I realize that the small wasp probably paralyzed the carpenter bee's larva and laid her egg in the hole.  When the egg hatches, it will dine upon not only the grasshopper that the wasp shoved in the hole before closing it, but also the carpenter bee larva.)

Ok, so bug watching time was over.  Michael and I had to get back to work!  Thick clouds were building in the east and we knew that the afternoon would be filled with thunderstorms!

Pleasant surprise!

This evening reestablished my confidence in the younger generation. It is almost impossible to be with any group of people without someone bemoaning the fact that the "younger generation is going down the road to ruin." Many, many years ago, I am quite sure that folks were saying the same thing about my generation and I suppose now it is our turn to be disgusted with the morals of the next group of young people. Personally, I have always been quite impressed with the young people that I have had the honor of knowing. On a whole, they are a good bunch and a lot of fun. Tonight, however, would have made anyone think better of this group. As I sat fishing on the pier (and not catching anything edible, I might add), two fishermen gently glided their boat alongside of me. I recognized them as friends of my son..two of the many that spent days on end at our place when they were young teens. After visiting for a few minutes, one of them asked if I had caught any fish. "No, not a one." I told them. Reaching into their cooler, one of the young men grabbed a nice size Red Drum fish and tossed it up on the pier. I thought this was the nicest gesture. These two sweet guys, Taylor and Brandon, had just provided me with dinner! What a beautiful fish it was! It measured twenty-two inches! I am impressed with the kindness they had shown..it does the heart good to know such fine young people!

This morning while taking a few minutes break from terracing another part of our yard, my son noticed a bee crawling on the ground. We sat watching this bee as it made a run straight for a patch of sand near our feet. Then like greased lightning it started digging a hole. Sand was practically flying as it dug. Suddenly it turned and headed back in the direction it had come. Keep in mind that this bee was crawling not flying. We watched until it was out of sight. Careful not to damage the hole, we observed its handiwork. The hole was quite deep and the entrance was about the size of a nickel. While we were standing there staring at a hole in the ground, the bee returned. This time it was dragging a very large locust (about three inches long)! Before I could get the camera focused on the pair, the bee slipped the locust into the hole and out of sight. How

it knew that the locust was going to fit with such ease was beyond me, but the bug just slipped right in without even scraping the tunnel. The bee then proceeded to partially cover the hole. It did not completely fill it and then (this time) flew off to find another prey. After a bit of research, I have decided our bee is a Thread-waisted Wasp (Ammophila Nigricans). This wasp is known as a digger wasp..huh..who would have guessed??..since they did burrows as a nest. The locust was a food supply for a larvae that would hatch from an egg that was laid before the hole was completely covered. Smart bee, providing for its young before it has even hatched!