Once upon a time, I stepped on a bumble bee.
It was an accident. I was doing a cartwheel at summer camp by the waterfront, early in the morning, before we were going to swim to the island in the middle of Lake Bucatabon. The swim was affectionately known as the polar bear, since the water was never warm.
I didn't notice the bee hopping from clover flower to clover flower, and in my excitement to get started on the swim, I cartwheeled right onto it. Needless to say, I didn't make the swim, and the bee didn't make it to see the hive again.
My foot swelled up, and I was carried to the infirmary. I never did forget that bee, nor did I forget how much it loved that clover.
This spring, I haven't seen a single bee in my clover-covered yard. Not one. That's not good.
I've seen hornets nesting in the ground by my garage. I've seen wasps building a nest in the doorway above my laundry room. I've seen carpenter bees boring into my mailbox stand. I just haven't seen honey bees.
I know that there are bee shortages around the country. Entire hives are disappearing. Chemicals in herbicides and pesticides are said to be blamed. Early studies thought it was disease or mites.
Without the bees, we're pretty much screwed. Without bees, pollination is a whole lot harder. As a lazy gardener, I'm not all that likely to hand-pollinate my plants...one at a time, with a paintbrush or q-tip.
I'm looking forward to spying some bees in my garden. Hoping to attract them by planting some flowers. They're welcome at my house any time.
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