Finding Shelter From Storms

   All of us have our times where we feel the need to take shelter whether it be from bad weather, other people or simply from our own emotions.  I have been feeling like that lately.  It feels like I am being twisted by a violent maelstrom that is pulling me deeper and deeper into the depths.  I am tired.  I am overwhelmed.  I am bewildered. When I feel like this, I stroll the Small Gardens and think.  The brain can wander without constraint.  Any number of magical events can occur and bring a bit of peace and happiness to my heart.  The gardens are where I seek shelter...they are my refuge. 

  A couple of days ago, my sweet niece came to visit.  She and I seem to be kindred spirits in more ways than one.  We can see the beauty in the simplest of thing and can pray away our troubles while meandering among the botanical wonders that surround us.  After she left, I headed back to the vegetable plot to check the squash.  It had rained the night before and the leaves were still drippy wet.  Most were hanging low over the blossoms as if they were offering shelter.  As I pushed aside one large leaf, my heart gave a little flutter.  Nestled deep inside of the large, yellow squash bloom were two tiny bees.  Snuggling together, the two had sought shelter from the overnight storm.  The squash plant had offered a safe-haven for them and they were reluctant to leave since the raindrops were still dripping from the leaves.  Gently....ever so gently, I lowered the umbrella leaf back over the two tiny beings and smiled.  I had found refuge simply by observing bees that sought shelter, as well.

  Folks, be kind.  It all goes back to that old saying "If you wouldn't like something done (or said) to you, don't do (or say) it to others.  

Zinnias, Zinnias Everywhere!

   On a whim a few years ago, I bought a pack of zinnia seeds from the local dollar store simply because they reminded me of Pop and his lovely gardens.  I had no idea if the seeds would even sprout since they were so cheap compared to other "name brand" seeds.  Well, every last seed sprouted, grew and bloomed for the entire summer.  Being who I am, I saved seeds from those blooms.  In fact, I saved far too many seeds since so many people remarked "Oh, I love those!  Save some seeds for me!"  Long story short, no one came to get the seeds so, the next spring, I planted even more zinnias.  The saved seeds did remarkably well and, as before, I saved seeds...far too many seeds.  In fact, when I went to plant this spring, I had an entire gallon of zinnia seeds!  Oops!  That is an awful lot of seeds when you consider how flat they are.  Needless to say, I planted more zinnias this year than in previous years.  Once again, the flowers are outdoing themselves and I find myself hating to toss the spent blooms aside.  So, the saving has commenced.  Who would have thought that a one dollar pack of seeds could bring so much brightness to the gardens for so many years??

  Of course, all of those zinnia blooms attract a myriad of nectar seeking critters.  The zinnia bed is a literal kaleidoscope of butterflies, moths and bees.  At any given time, fifty or sixty different insects can be found flitting about the blooms.  I am beginning to think that was the best gardening investment ever made and plan on never buying seeds from any other place.  The zinnia bed is going to be extended to twice the size this next year and will be home to hundreds of plants.  In fact, since the vegetable plot has already gone the wayside, my plans are to sow the remaining saved seeds (from last year) in that space.  The ground will not sit idle as I await for time to plant the fall garden.  The critters will be happy campers and the yard will be a blast of color!  (The photos only show half of the existing zinnia bed!)

"Beeing" In The Right Spot!

  Early this afternoon, I found it far to stifling to sit inside so I escaped the confines of the Little Bayou House.  Outside, I could breathe!  After taking a few deep, lung-filling breaths, I fiddled around in the garden.  It felt good being out in the sunshine and cooling breezes.  While I am not one to complain about being home day after day, I do need my outdoor time!  What am I saying??  I stay on the Bayou about 99% of my time.  It is here that I feel safe, at peace and welcome.  I cannot say that about too many places.

  After tending to the tiny seedling tomato plants, I figured that I would sit on the steps and enjoy the view for a while.  These steps are directly in line with the pier so the scenery is quite exquisite!  It was not long, however, before my eyes were directed toward my feet.  Buzzing about the ground below me were a good number of bees...or wasps...or...something.  Time to investigate!

  In total, there were about 30 insects within a few feet.  Some were tiny but one large bee...wasp caught my eye.  A scoliid type wasp was crawling about on the board path as if searching for something.  She went from board to dirt and back again.  This wasp did not bother any of the tiny bees but found a small hole and immediately started digging.  I took the opportunity to photograph her up close and personal!  While I was busy photographing the wasp, the other insects kept right on digging their nesting sites.  Not once did any of them attempt to sting me.  In fact, the whole lot of them seemed perfectly oblivious of my presence.  

  Scoliid wasps have a rather unique..albeit morbid...way of laying eggs.  Instead of digging nesting site holes and providing paralyzed insects for their future kids, the Scoliid Wasp merely hunts for a beetle larva hole, digs it larger until she can fit, stings the larva to paralyze it and then lays her egg on its rear.  The larva remains alive but cannot move.  The wasp egg hatches and the wasp larva starts eating its beetle larva host.  If other wasp eggs are in the same larva,  the first one to hatch eats all of the other eggs before starting to dine upon the beetle larva.  Survival of the fittest...or first, in this case.

  I must admit that spending an hour or so watching bees and wasps gave me the fresh air and escape I needed.  Tomorrow, the yard work continues so the brain will not feel trapped.  Mother Nature can often find cures for our doldrums.  The entertainment is endless.

If Only Critters Could Talk!

  I managed to slip out into the garden early this morning and was surprised to see how many critters had taken a liking to the chive blossoms.  Usually, the white blossoms are covered with lovebugs but this year there were only a few but joining them was a whole slew of other bugs!  Milkweed bugs, ailanthus webworm moths, longtailed skippers, assassin bugs, honeybees, bumblebees and even mosquitoes were busy on the blossoms.  Those were the ones I recognized.  Many more were flitting and crawling about the flowers.  Some, I was able to photograph.  Others were far too fast!  And then there were those that were too shy to stick around long enough for me to steady the camera in their direction.

  Finding so many different critters interested in the chive blossoms made me curious as to their nectar.  Is that stuff sweeter than say the roses that were blooming just a few feet away?  Does it taste better than the morning glories that fill the fence a directly behind the chive garden?  Are moonflowers, lilies and crepe myrtle blooms just not good enough for the bugs?  To me, the blossoms always tasted garlicky...these are garlic chives, after all.  So what is the big attraction here?  If only critters could talk!

Busy Building!

    Along about noontime, I glanced out the front window just in time to see something zip to the left.  Ok, so that was a big bee!  Shoes on, camera in hand and glasses..I need my glasses!  I had to go find a bee!  The search did not take long because the bee was busy building a home.  There, on my gatepost, was a nice sized hole and there, going in that hole, was the bee.  She was poking stuff into the hole.  This was obviously a female that had gnawed out a tunnel in the post and then gnawed individual rooms.  In these cells, she laid in a stock of pollen and regurgitated nectar.  She then laid eggs in the different cells of the tunnel before sealing them off from the rest of the tunnel.  The sealing is done with plant fibers and soft wood from her gnawing.  This was her intentions for the day.  It was time to seal the main entrance to her nest.

  

  These tunnels can sometimes be up to 5 feet long and have many, many side cells.  The female bee does all the work.  Several generations of bees might use the same tunnel with a female adding to the tunnel system each year.  The tunnels are also used as overwintering spots for bees.  They will again lay in a stock of pollen and seal themselves in once the weather turns cold.  Many of the adult bees will die during the winter but those who survive will gnaw their way out during spring and start the process anew.

  The bee that has claimed my fencepost is a Southern Carpenter Bee.  These bees are not as fuzzy and cute as some of the other bees.  Some resemble Bumble Bees but mine lacks the bright yellow fuzziness.  In fact, this one looks downright intimidating!  The females are not apt to sting.  She can and will if you grab her but she is far too busy to be concerned about a mere human.  That said, the male does not have a stinger but he sure can get himself in a tizzy and act like a big bully if he thinks you are getting to close.  But that is all he does...nothing else...at all.   So Carpenter Bees are not a threat to anything but the wood in your house and, well, any gateposts that just happen to be handy.  I guess it is time to remedy a problem before it gets any worse.

Hard Working Lady

  Mark joined me on a hike about the hillside this afternoon.  It is always better when he is along!  Son and I had almost finished mowing and I was anxious to relax a bit.  My hikes include hunting for "hidden critters" to include in the "Find the Critter on the Bayou" game that I started for the Grandlittles.  Sometimes these critters are so well hidden that I have trouble spotting them to get their picture.  We were coming to the end of our hike when I spied a skink on an old log.  Not exactly too well camouflaged but a pretty guy all the same.  The picture-taking started and I became oblivious to all around me.  I have a tendency to become fully focused on the critter in front of the lens and forget all else.  If it had not been for Mark, I would not have even seen the lovely little lady that was busily working not too far from me.

  A Leafcutter Bee was working herself to a frazzle on the possum grape leaves that draped over a dead tree that had fallen.  The photography opportunity shifted from lizard to bee.  We watched as the small black bee cut a perfect circle out of the grape leave then hightail it back to her nest.  She had a lot of work to do and had no time for lollygagging about for the paparazzi.  It made me happy to see the Leafcutter Bee busying herself in the yard.  They are good bees to have as they pollinate the plants for us.  Sure, they cut holes in the leaves but other than making an unsightly mess of things, they do a service by being even better pollinators than Honeybees.  When Leafcutter Bees carry pollen back to their nests, they carry it dry which allows more pollination. The pollen blows around and lands on lots of flowers where as Honeybees carry "wet" pollen.  

  The Leafcutter bee is a pretty docile bee.  She has no time to go around stinging folks just because they happen to get too near.  Leafcutter Bees are considered to be solitary bees as they do not make hives and live communally.  Each female is a queen and does all of the work required to raise the next brood.  She cuts all of the leaves needed to make the nest, lays the eggs and gathers the pollen to pack in the nest for the next generation. The larvae will have plenty to eat when they hatch from the eggs.  She is just far too busy to be defensive even of her nest.  This makes Leafcutter Bees the perfect bee for "bee houses".  Perhaps this will be the next project for the garden. I believe that the Grandlittles would love to observe the bees at work and not having to worry about bee stings should make their mom happy as well.  Wait until I tell Son that I need him to build me a bee house!  I can only imagine the look I will receive.  

Can I Find a Bee for Hire?

  Early this afternoon, the cooling breeze demanded that I take a hike! While the house seemed hot, outside was pleasantly comfortable.  The hike meandered around the gardens and finally to the west side of the house.  Just a few steps from the little walkway flanked by herbs, a slight buzzing sound could be heard.  It seems that I am not the only one that loves my herbs!  Bees have literally swarmed to the blossoms of the Florence Fennel and are taking full advantage of the pollen. The yellow blooms were crawling with numerous types of bees and even a few wasps.  This was surprising to me as just a few feet from the fennel were dozens of Ruby Lilies in full bloom.  Nary a bee (nor wasp) could be found buzzing about those blooms even though they are highly aromatic.  There just has to be something about that Fennel pollen!  I knew the plants were good for you and the seeds are amazingly tasty but what about that pollen?

  A bit of research showed where the Fennel pollen is indeed sought after by, not only bees, but humans.  Just recently, the pollen has become recognized as an exciting culinary spice.  Obviously, the pollen packs quite the wham to a number of dishes.  It can be added to meats, salads and even breads!  Come to find out, I am missing out on the most potent part of the Fennel!

  Another thing that was surprising (and a bit saddening) was the fact that even though there were hundreds of bees on the Fennel, not one was a honeybee.  Perhaps they do not like the potent pollen and search out sweeter nectar.  Earlier in the year, the roses, jasmine and citrus trees were loaded with honeybees but I never noticed any other type.  I suppose bees have selective tastes just like humans.  Sweet nectar must be needed to make honey whereas pollen can be used to feed bee larvae. Since these bees and wasps were most likely stowing food away for their unhatched eggs, it stands to reason that the pollen would suffice. Smart bees.  And if that pollen is so tasty, I now want to find a way to harvest it!  Perhaps this will be my new "spice" of the year!  And since it is priced at around $10 per half ounce, I will harvest and not buy!  Wouldn't it be great if I could train bees to harvest pollen for me?

Busy Bees!

  Since it is getting down to "crunch time" on the Third Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou, I have been neglecting the garden.  Other than running out to water it occasionally, the poor plants have been left to their own doings...or rather undoings.  I really MUST make time to pick the bell peppers!  There are dozens upon dozens of the lovely things dangling on the plants.  Picking won't be the problem but doing something with them afterwards takes time...time I do not have at the moment.  This morning was one of those "splash with the water hose" days.  As I hastily doused water on anything that resembled a live plant, I noticed the chives were literally alive with critters.  Bees of all types (and a few lovebugs) were busy, busy!  Chive flowers must be tasty or provide healthy nutrients because hundreds of bees and other insects swarmed the plants.  This was good to see!

  The blossoms of choice seemed to be the Garlic Chives over any other blooming plants with a close second being the Sweet Basil. My little bees love herbs!  While watching the bees, I pondered if any of the honey produced by the honeybees would taste like the herbs.  What an interesting taste that would be!  I know that certain flowers can produce "flavored" honey but I have no clue about the herbs.  I guess this is something to ask our cousin who keeps bees.  I am sure he will know.

  My short stay in the garden provided me with things to think about today and a moment of peace.  It is always a calming place to be....except if you are a bee...then it is hectic!  Busy, busy bees! (Just like me with these clue hunt preparations!)

Gleaming like a Jewel

My meanderings take me a different route each day.  This is my way of getting a bit of exercise all the while finding a bit of relaxation.  Hiking does that for me.  I enjoy seeing things that go unnoticed most of the time.  I am not out to run some marathon nor even hike briskly.  I just mosey about looking.  Over the course of an hour, I might head down the hillside to the pier then back around the back to the creek.  Each route shows me something different.

Today, while in the back by the citrus trees, I spied a small gleam in one of the lime trees.  A bit of a glint sparkling with the setting sun.  Hmmm?  Lime trees are not supposed to sparkle!  Time for a bit of investigation!  Careful of the three inch long thorns, I eased my way between the lemon and lime trees to the one in the back corner.  The little jewel sparkled brightly as if leading me the direct path to it.  Once I neared the tree, I realized that the glistening gem was a bit of tree resin that had oozed from the nearby peach tree.  The limbs of that tree had intermingled with the limbs of the lime tree.  I reached out and touched the droplet causing it to fall to the ground.  Oh, my!  I picked it up and toted it to a nearby post that just happened to hold a nice white stone! I found that bit of interest on a previous hike.  The stone provided a nice backdrop for photographing the resin droplet.  I was astonished at how beautiful it was!  That small droplet glimmered in the setting sun and made it appear to be some fantastic jewel.   And, in a way, it was.  It was one of Mother Nature's gemstones that adorned her trees as elegantly as diamonds do the wealthy.  I, for one, think that this interesting bit of tree resin was every bit as gorgeous as expensive jewels.  The rare sighting of it sparkling in the fading sun was a sight to behold.

Now if this was the right type of tree resin and it went through some marvelous changes over a period of time, it could possibly become a "gemstone" in its own right.  Amber is just that..fossilized tree resin.  Amber is one of the so-called gemstones that always interested me.  I loved the fact that sometimes a small insect or other critter would become stuck in the resin while it was still "sticky" and then be fossilized inside.  The inclusion of a critter would be of great interest to scientists as they could study something from long ago that was still intact.  Hmmm...again!  I examined my piece of tree resin!  Sure enough, there were two tiny bees stuck fast inside the globule!  Not that these bees were anything special now but just on the outside chance that a million or so years from now, my sparkly jewel was found as amber, those two bees might be extraordinary finds!

One never knows just what bit of interest can be found on a hike.  Even if the hike is in your own backyard, examine everything closely!  Look at things with a questioning mind.  Never let even the most minute vision go unexplored.  The world has so many things that are overlooked by most folks.  Open the mind and let the world inside.  It can be an amazing thing!

Garden Helper

I was up with the birds this morning!  There were a lot of chores that I needed to do before rains set in for the day.  Thunder out over the Gulf was my alarm clock and I knew that it would be just a matter of time before those storms would swing inland.  My herbs are at the optimal point for drying so I had to harvest this morning.  My hike to the pier would have to be postponed for a different day. While heading toward the Sage patch, I passed a few volunteer Zinnias.  These have been doing so well and have livened up the Rose Garden tremendously.  Their bright blooms remind me of Pop's flower gardens back on the farm.  He always loved his Zinnias as they would bloom nigh on the entire summer!  I do believe these will do the same if I can keep the rabbits from nibbling them to the ground.
 

This morning, however, there were no rabbits munching my flowers.  Instead, I found a nice plump Carpenter Bee resting on the tiptop of a lovely pink flower!  Obviously, the bee had spent the night right there and was still a bit "waterlogged" from the rains that pelted the area during the nighttime.  The early morning sunshine was beaming down on his wings which I assume felt mighty fine after the soggy night.  Being curious, I gently poked the bee.  It was definitely still alive but needed some warming before it could carry on about its business for the day.

The black spot in the center of a yellow thorax is a identification mark of a Carpenter Bee!

After checking the Sage and deciding that it could benefit from one more day's growing, I returned to the bee.  It was still on the flower but was moving about a bit more.  Its antennae were wiggling and it was trying to sip a bit of the sweet nectar that the Zinnia supplied.  As much as I do not like these bees for the damage they can wreak on wood, it was nice to see it pollinating the plants of the garden.  Most bees are welcome in my garden.  With the noticeable lack of Honeybees lately, I appreciate any and all pollinators that come.  I watched as the Carpenter Bee finally warmed enough to fly and off it went to visit flower after flower.  Ahhh, with the bee's help the seeds formed from these flowers will produce lovely plants next year!  Carry on, Little Bee, carry on!  Pollinate those Zinnias!

As a happy note, I did see quite a few Honeybees in a large tree down the lane!  I hope they decide to stay in the area!  Perhaps I need to plant more flowers!  On a sad note, our bees are dying out rapidly due to "safe lawn chemicals".  Folks!  These chemicals are not safe at  all!  Find critter friendly alternatives..please! This habit is taking a toll on the bee population and if things do not change soon..we will not be seeing bees of any sort in our gardens.  Without bees to pollinate, it will not take long before the world starves.