Yes, I know -- another bee on another purple flower. I'm not winning points for originality here! But what's unusual about this bee and flower is that they're inside the house. That purple heart plant grows by the back door, and the other day the bee leisurely flew inside to check out the blossoms.
The bee seemed to struggle a bit with the long, floppy stamens of the flower, holding on to them like a drowning man holds on to a life preserver. But I imagine the flower might have enjoyed it, if a flower is capable of enjoyment. Whatever chemicals and hormones run in its vessels might have sped up a bit, in reaction to finally being touched by a pollinator!
Or not. Who knows.
Once finished with its exploring, the bee bounced futilely off the glass windows for a few minutes before I helped it back outside. When it went back to its hive covered with this exotic tropical pollen, did the other bees say, "Where have you been?!"
Yesterday was wildly busy once again. I covered new books, shelved three or four cartloads of returns -- they're still pouring in -- and we had sixth graders coming in for library orientation. The librarian had them rotate among various "stations" where they learn about the library and how it's organized, and at one of them, they were supposed to write on a poster the place where they most like to read. Most of them said things like "on the couch" or "in my room," but one kid wrote, "on a boat in Croatia." Very specific.
It began raining (yay!) as I walked home from work, so I got a little wet and rode a bus part of the way. I picked up my new glasses at the optician. I'm still not thrilled with them. They're much better than the varifocals, but they still seem a bit over-magnified. I find that I constantly use the top part of the lens and never the bottom, which is supposed to be for close-up reading, and they seem a bit blurry toward the edges. I'm going to wear them a few more days and try to get used to them, but honestly, I wish I'd never started all this and just had my old reading glasses back. (I do have an older pair of readers, and they're much easier to wear!)
I like the idea of the bee carrying exotic pollen!
ReplyDeleteI've heard some people love varifocals or bi-focals and others hate them. Maybe you will get used to them - or not.
I'm trying to force myself to wear them, to see if I can adjust.
DeleteTo get used to varifocals you need to stop using you previous glasses, good luck . Pam
ReplyDeleteThe new ones give me a headache, so I was trying to alternate them with the old ones. Didn't realize that was bad!
Deletegetting specs just right is tricky. I have found that my ordinary glasses plus skinny readers works well. Nothing fancy.
ReplyDeleteYour purple bee flower looks like tomorrow land!
My motto in life is the simpler the better. I'm seeing how that applies to glasses as well!
DeleteVarifocals take a week or so to get used to. I resisted them for years, but love them and will never go back now.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess mine are technically bifocals, because we ditched the varifocals pretty quickly and I supposedly only have two focal zones now.
DeleteHaving never had to wear spectacles, problems with lenses are mysterious to me. A whole new world of irritation. I hope the bee said, "Thank you mate!" when you let it out.
ReplyDeleteClearly you used your time productively as a young man, and so don't have eyesight issues in your older age. I use two pair of glasses, so you can guess I did not use my time so productively.
DeleteI wonder what you were doing as a young man to damage your eyesight Andrew? Stamp collecting?
DeleteHe was going blind!
DeleteI'm amazed you don't need reading glasses, YP! It's a rare person who gets to our age and doesn't need some help as our corneas age.
DeleteAs for the rest of this conversation: 😂😂😂
Raises hand: "I have a question sir. How do you cover the books and what do you use?" Pictures would be helpful. I covered my street directory with clear plastic contact paper and it was lovely for a day, then it began to wrinkle with air bubbles and just got worse so I peeled it all off again.
ReplyDeleteI am interested to know too.
DeleteStay tuned! You asked so I shall explain, with visuals.
DeleteLooking forward to this.
DeleteWendy (Wales)
Reading on a boat in Croatia appeals to me, sans bees.
ReplyDeleteSounds pretty nice, right?
DeleteOh, what a very lucky boy... reading on a boat in Croatia. I have to make do with my little reading nook by the window.
ReplyDeleteI have to make do with my holey couch!
DeleteI wonder if you will have an influx of bees, since bees inform each other of pollen sources.
ReplyDeleteWell, that will be interesting! I think they'll mostly be frustrated, though, because that window's only open when we're home.
DeleteWhat a shame about the glasses. I would be stewing that that bee will be telling all her friends about your pollinator. Had I seen the bee, I would have immediately left the room and yelled, Jerry!
ReplyDeleteWell, you have an excuse for being super-careful around bees! You're allergic, as I recall?
DeleteYeah, allergic, and overly dramatic.
DeleteI always imagine you're covering books with brown paper from supermarket bags as my son did in years gone by! But I think you're a bit more upmarket.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, not paper covers. It's clear plastic, two different types depending on the book.
DeleteIf you haven't already read it, I highly recommend "The Light Eaters" by Zoe Schlanger. It is a book dedicated to the latest research showing that plants can talk, feel and perhaps "hear" in their own way. I was blown away when I heard her interviewed and then read the book. I now look at plants with a new appreciation of what they might be sensing about me.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds interesting! I'll try to check it out! It might make me paranoid about our houseplants. LOL
DeleteI'd like to read on a boat in Croatia too!
ReplyDeleteRight?!
DeleteI, too, would like to read on a boat in Croatia! I'm struggling a bit with my new specs because I don't think they're strong enough. Better than my old ones though so I'll just put up with it until next year.
ReplyDeleteBetter not strong enough than too strong, which I think is one of my problems.
DeleteI can imagine the bee trying to lead her hivemates back to the purple heart only to encounter the glass door. The last time I went for a follow up after the cataract surgery she gave me a new prescription for glasses but told me I might just get readers and if I did to get 200+. So that's what I did.
ReplyDeleteI think I could probably make do with over-the-counter readers too.
DeleteI lost my comment. Damn it! It was about my progressive lens, they really only have a circle of magnifying in the centre of the bottom of the lens, it's not all the way across the lens, not sure why.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what kind of bee dance the bee did when she went back to the hive, and if the other bees believed her.
The optometrist told me that the focal area of varifocal lenses (which I think are the same as progressive) is shaped like an hourglass, with focus at top and bottom and a narrowing in the center. This seems crazy to me but I bet what you're seeing is that narrow spot. I had the same thing, but it was right where I look to use the computer, and that's why they took the glasses back.
DeleteI really should know more about bees. For instance- I always thought that bees concentrated on one type of plant at a time. Thus, "orange blossom honey" or "tupelo honey" or "palmetto honey." But they do go from one species to another. I think. The vastness of my ignorance is shocking.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe plants have a consciousness. Not one that we would really understand, perhaps, but one nonetheless.
I think bees will harvest nectar (and pollen) from pretty much any blooming plant within their range. Orange blossom honey is usually made by putting the hives in orange groves, because that guarantees the only flowers the bees will encounter are orange blossoms. (I did an article on this once!) I suppose clover honey and other types are made the same way -- by limiting the bees' access mainly to one type of flower.
DeleteI love that bee and story you created for it.
ReplyDeleteI need to call my eye doctor too. While I was in London, I suddenly started seeing a series of 'floaters' in my left eye and now it's feeling strained. I need to get that checked.
I'm glad you are getting some rain again. We even got some last night. Yippee.
Oh, that's not good! Definitely get those floaters checked out. Dave had something similar which turned out to be a small intra-ocular hemmorhage, but in his case it was transient and went away on its own.
DeleteHope you get used to the glasses, Steve. Your days fly by at work when you are busy like that. I'm surprised you do not carry an umbrella. Seems like it would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteYes, the days do go fast. That's the good part! I hate carrying umbrellas, as you will see in the subsequent post, but I do sometimes.
DeleteWhile you’re getting into the mind of the bee, I’m stuck with pleasurable sensations in the flower’s existence!
ReplyDeleteIf a flower ever feels pleasure, surely that would be the moment!
DeleteA good library orientation for new kids helps everybody. Kids will know some of the procedures.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It helps to give them all the info they need at the beginning of the year, but of course they need a lot of reminders too.
DeleteThat's frustrating about the glasses and why I sometimes tell myself not to try anything new. I know, that's bad advice but I get tired of being burned by stuff that doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Instinctively I do not like change.
DeleteWith 20/20 most of my life, I never made it to an eye doctor until after I'd retired. (yes, I know - glaucoma lurks). I began with over-the-counter cheaters in my 40s and was just fine with them. Now I do have some long-distance prescription glasses that fade to a close-up area on the bottom but have never comfortably read with them.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a lot of these bifocal/varifocal lenses are actually quite hard for people to use!
DeleteEyeglasses can be a big point of difficulty. What one doc recommends the next dislikes. I am getting used to bifocals ever so slowly. I might just type my numbers into Chat GPT and see what they have to say!
ReplyDeleteThe purple flower with nearly black stems and leaves is beautiful. Fortunately, the bee had a good visit and left with not too much difficulty. Luckily it was not a bird that flew in.
The purple flower is a type of Tradescantia known as a Purple Heart. They're very easy to grow. If you have one you can take cuttings and soon you'll have a thousand!
DeleteExotic pollen! Don't you wonder, the bee conversations! It took me a bit to adjust to my glasses too, the first time I switched types. Just keep at it but don't hesitate to return if they don't mesh after a bit.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence about whether I should return them again. They're usable but not as comfortable as my old readers.
DeleteI enjoyed your vaguely erotic musings on the bee and the flower!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new glasses. Initially I had a hard time getting used to my progressive lenses, but now I have no problems. I think the trick is to get lenses that are big enough. Reading a book on a boat in Croatia is very specific. Sounds like that was part of that student's summer vacation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the area of the lens has got to be a big factor. I think mine may not be big enough.
DeleteAaaaaaaaw. Cute story. Second Pic is so good I'd frame it. Recently read an article that because of years of being released into monocultures they're now getting Bee nutritional supplements.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt that some bees don't see enough variety in their diets, which is kind of sad!
DeleteBees need to get in all the pollen they can right now, as the season for flowers will soon be over. I wonder how many bee hives exist in London; there must be quite a few bee keepers who own hives on rooftops and in gardens. The company I work for owns a few on the top of our building; not a garden as such (not accessible for us, normally) but growing a meadow up there which attracts all sorts of pollinators and birds.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are tons of them, though I don't know of any in our immediate vicinity. I always wonder where all these bees are coming from! Dave looked into keeping bees but I think he felt like it would be a lot of work and hard to do in an urban environment without alarming people.
Delete