It Is Working!

   I find it sort of funny how there are those who will profess to do all they can to protect wildlife and, yet, have no qualms about using toxic chemicals on their lawns, around their homes and in their gardens.  To be honest, it is perplexing.  Either you do or you don't.  Simple fact.  There is no "I like honeybees but not lizards.", "I like flowers but not weeds (wildflowers).", "I like birds but not 'possums." and there is definitely no "I protect wildlife but want to spray fertilizer, weed killer and insecticides over my entire place." (Wow! That sentence probably just sent all grammar experts into a tizzy! I apologize but I write like I talk.)

  I admit to not being too choosy when it comes to killing things that create mass destruction (termites) or can cause bodily harm (yellow jackets if near the house) but I do not randomly use any chemicals on a broad range.  This method is starting to show some promise!  For a number of years, I noticed a mass decline in the number of bees about the place. (Not wasps, bees...bumblebees, honeybees, etc.)  It was saddening to think that the bees might be dwindling in numbers as, without them, we are all more or less doomed.  Bees pollinate the gardens which feed us all.  Everyone should be trying to protect them.

  Imagine my delight when I found hundreds of bees visiting the spiderwort blossoms this morning.  There were so many that I actually heard them before I saw them.  The buzzing lured me to behind the greenhouse where I leave the spiderwort plants to grow with wild abandon.  This plan obviously worked!  The morning blooms were serving up their nectar to a myriad of bees!  Seeing them made me smile but also made me wish others would use commonsense when it comes to being a bit respectful to  our critter friends.

Its a Bee Thing

  Fall is great on so many things but unless you leave a lot of weeds....errr...wildflowers in your yard, there is just not a lot for the bees and butterflies to eat.  Both of those depend on the pollen and nectar to help them overwinter or migrate...whichever the case may be.  The honeybees have a particular fondness for the lovely Confederate Rose that springs up early each year but blooms mostly in fall.  The large saucer-sized blooms open white and then turn a dark rosy pink during the day then back to almost white late in the evening.  Being a hibiscus, the blooms have a large pollen-making parts which is a boon to the bees.  

  To overwinter, the bees need to lay in a supply of honey.  This honey is what will feed the newly hatched the bees in early spring.  The stored honey will nurture the bees until they can find flowers to start the honey-making for the season.  

  This afternoon as we were coming up from the pier, Mark drew my attention to the large blooms along the side of the board path.  We both admired the lovely blooms and the tiny visitors that were stocking up on the life-giving pollen.  By having the Confederate Roses in the yard, I felt pretty good about the chances of the bees surviving another year.  Well, I have done my part!  The weeds (wildflowers) are in full bloom since I have not cut the grass in a month and these hibiscus blooms are adding to the wealth for the bees!  Nice!

As Sweet as Honey!

    My daily morning hike takes me around the back of the canebrake and down into the woods to the creek.  This morning, as soon as I passed the cane, a sweet aroma came wafting down around me.  Ahh!  I knew what this was!  I had just passed a clump of palmettos and noticed that they were blooming so that could mean only one thing.  The Gallberry Bushes were in full bloom!  Gallberry or Inkberry Bushes are relatively small shrubs that resemble Blueberry Bushes but are not kin at all.  In fact, these are members of the Holly family.  While I have been told all of my life that the berries of this bush are not to be eaten, the aroma is almost intoxicating!  This is all for good reason as it attracts honeybees by the swarms!  Since I use no insecticides, the bees are free to visit the bushes without any harm coming to them.  

  It is a well-known fact that when bees visit the Gallberry Bushes, the honey they produce is a much bolder honey and has a better shelf life as it does not crystallize near as quickly as other honeys...even in cold weather.  Its distinct taste is favored around here when it can be found. And...I say "around here" simply because the bush seems to grow more prolifically in the warmer climate....it is a "Southern thing"!  Still, finding pure Gallberry Honey is difficult because, as I said, the bush blooms at the same time as many other plants.  Bees are not picky and gather pollen and nectar from most any flower.  

  It seems logical that if we wish to keep bees healthy, their favorite flowering plants should be kept in peak condition.  With all of the clear-cutting happening around here with the building of houses, the bees will soon leave for places left untouched.  This is why I tend to leave our property wild and woolly!  Let the plants grow!  Not only are they good for the bees...they are good for us!

What good are a few bees?

  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my dismay over folks using toxic sprays or powders on flowering plants.  I was quite distraught that the chemicals of choice were ones that would kill honeybees. After I wrote my say on the matter, I came in contact with a few people that read that page.  They were astounded that I would even dare to "attack" their methods of gardening.  "What are a few bees when it means that my plants will be bug-free?"  they queried.  Going even further a few made the comment "What good are honeybees anyway?  I can always buy honey from the grocery store."  Hmmm. Once again, I am saddened.  What good are honeybees?  Oh, my word!

  Well, I will tell you. Those pretty little flowers that you are trying to "de-bug" will no longer exist if you keep killing the bees. Little do some folks realize or little do they care at the moment, but honeybees pollinate about eighty percent of our flowering crops, both ornamental and food crops. This makes up about a third of our diets.  Everything from fruit to veggies are "flowering crops". Without the bees' pollinating habits, the crops cannot reproduce and will eventually die out.  This causes problems even for you folks who eat a ton of meat as without the crops (think grain), there will be little feed for cattle, hogs and poultry.  Pretty soon humans will be reduced to eating a bunch of lab-created junk.  How long will it take before we die out as well?  

   Not only do we depend on the honeybees for their habit of pollinating flowers but, also for their delicious and nutritious honey! (And, sorry folks, without bees, there will be no honey on the shelves of the grocery store!)  I, myself, use probably a two dozen quarts of local honey a year.  There is a kind man not far from the Bayou who sells his honey.  Another benefit of keeping our honeybees healthy is the fact that medical research has proven that a number of diseases and disorders can be treated with honey and/or bee venom.

  So, if you have any doubts about protecting the honeybee, I suggest that you start now to reorganize your ideas on food consumption and medical treatments.  Perhaps a water diet would suit you!  I am quite sure you will do well with that!  (Especially, since the same toxins that are killing our honeybees are also polluting the world's water supply.) In the meantime, do not tell me that honeybees are not important!  If you ask me, right now they are far higher on my list of importance than folks who are too lazy to find a natural method of ridding the garden of pests and insist on poisoning the earth. 

Bee Safe!

  The other day while I was out enjoying the incredible fragrance of the wisteria, I noticed that a myriad of honeybees were also enjoying the vine.  There buzzing filled the air just as the scent of the wisteria blooms did.  Aww, couldn't get much better than that!  I am so grateful that the honeybees are doing well around the Bayou.  I worried a bit when they no longer inhabited the old oak tree down the lane.  I thought, at best, they had perhaps moved to a new location...at worst, the swarm had died.  Their presence here means that maybe my going chemical-free in the garden is working.  

  Then a few days later, a friend of mine was asking for suggestions of how to rid her gardenia bush of worms.  She had taken to the social media to find answers.  I was horrified to find that out of the hundred or so responses to her query, all but a handful were to use a chemical spray or dust.  Only two or three suggested alternate methods of removal.  To make matters worse, she was actually taking their suggestions to heart.  I did my best by posting the idea that something less toxic should be used but to no avail.  What surprised me is that this very same beautiful lady should know better.  She is well educated and therefore well informed.  Being in the media herself (she is a newscaster), I would have thought that she might set a better example.  

  That said, I was extremely happy that my honeybees did not have that worry here on the Bayou.  The lady in question lives in an entirely different state but, still, that does not help with the overall health and welfare of the bees and Mother Nature in general.  Every honeybee that is killed is like killing a little bit of ourselves.  We need the bees.  Not only for the obvious delicious honey that they make but to pollinate the plants.  Without bees and other pollinators (all are affected by the toxic sprays and dusts) there will soon be no plants.  It aches my heart to even think of that one flowering bush being coated in chemicals.  

  Please..please, folks, find something a bit safer to use if you truly must rid your life of bugs!  Hand pick them, try home "remedies", encourage birds to reside in your yard or invest in some praying mantises!  Do anything!  Just do NOT kill my honeybees!

"All for one and one for all!"

So much for sunny March! It started out as a pea-soup-thick-foggy day and then turned into a messy day with the threat of tornadoes. Another day to be stuck inside the Little Bayou House and dream of hikes around the Bayou. As I listened to the steady drone of the wind, I thought of how much it, at times, sounded like a swarm of angry bees. This thought soon turned to honeybees and how Pop used to keep beehives. I miss those days of fresh honey! Not that I should complain, as my brother keeps me well supplied with honey from a local farmer! But still, there is nothing like bees to make the garden produce a lot better!

Several years ago, I was out back when I heard that buzzing sound. After looking around in the trees, I found the large clump of honeybees hanging on an oak tree limb. It was up about twenty feet off the ground but could have been retrieved if we had a hive handy. We did not. I watched the bees for quite some time as they crawled around on each other. The swarm reminded me of some large, pulsating blob from a Hollywood horror movie! Although there were thousands of bees in the mass, it appeared to be one complete living thing. They were steadily moving and occasionally some would literally fall from the blob. These would drop to the ground, crawl around a bit then fly back to the group.

The swarm stayed on the limb for an hour or so before moving on their way. I stood under the tree while they grouped together and then started as a unit moving off to parts unknown. I am assuming that the group is still in the area since when the wisteria or citrus trees are in full bloom, they are usually covered with honeybees. Perhaps, they went into one of the hollow trees in the creekbed or found some other suitable, naturally-protected place to turn into their new hive.

It was fascinating to watch these bees at such close proximity and not fear getting stung. Even though one would occasionally land me, not once did I get stung. It is quite the experience to witness the swarming of honeybees and realize the spirit of community that these insects project. They move as one..they work as one..they live as one. I suppose they would make great Musketeers! "All for one and one for all!" Aremis, Athos and Porthos have nothing on these honeybees!

~(Quote and characters from the Alexandre Dumas novel "The Three Musketeers".)