The lone honeybee last night is now with her sisters. The sun is rising and temperature is warm, giving them full metabolism and power. The vigorous honeybees at the feeder are collecting for the hive. Waiting on springtime to get here and plant a garden.
I remember growing up, planting 8 grape seeds across from the three honeybee hives. Those grape vines grew amazingly fast and were populated with the most juicy grapes birds and squirrels loved. Any seeds in the garden we planted were guaranteed to grow around the bees. Watermelons and squash were big. Vegetables grew without chemicals too. The bees did the hard work. I don't know how bees do it, but apparently they are meticulous engineers with flowers, giving the plants information how to best nurture the soil.
Here, there are many wildflowers many call weeds, but these plants are valuable food for birds all year, especially in the winter when the seed pods dry out and the nutritious insects inside digest the cellulose. The leaves on the ground are home to solitary bees, wasps, fireflies, glo-bugs, and other luminescent creatures of the night. It's like the Avatar movie. So much life here, even when most people don't notice it. I'm keeping most of this area native, just as life here curated it for countless thousands of years. I will be adding more solar panels and a compatible garden to sustain me, but that's about all the changes.
#bees #offgrid #solar
