Monday, February 24, 2020

First Bumblebees


After another blustery morning the sun came out yesterday, and it seemed brighter and warmer than before. I took Olga to the cemetery in the afternoon, where we found this camellia in full bloom.

Look at the right-hand blossom -- a hovering bumblebee! That's the fourth one I've seen this week. He was crawling way up inside every flower, collecting pollen or nectar or whatever it is that bumblebees collect.

I guess we are just a few days away from March, but still -- February seems early for bumblebees. After all, we had a snow day on the first of March just a few years ago.


Here's a close-up.


Olga had a good time on her walk, which of course involved wandering through the daffodils at Fortune Green.


"What'd I do?!"

I also moved the maltese cross, so that's one more plant taken care of for spring. I put it in a pot until we decide where we want to replant it. I think we're pretty much caught up on our gardening for the time being, although of course it's a process and never really finished.

I spent the rest of the day reading "In the Woods" by Tana French, a really good mystery novel. I finished it up and got about halfway through my next Newbery, "Onion John" by Joseph Krumgold.

I did find the Slovakian guy on Facebook -- the one whose ID card I picked up Saturday. It's definitely him, and he lives in London. So I sent him a message offering to return it. Haven't heard back yet. I think it's a pretty important document, like a passport for EU citizens, and in this post-Brexit era he may need it! We'll see if he responds.

14 comments:

  1. I was listening to a programme on the radio about Bees and Wasps and they said that Bumble Bees like Daffs but I haven't noticed any in Daffs have you?
    Love the pic of Olga among them.
    Briony
    x

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  2. Olga, smelling not the roses, but the daffodils!
    Alphie

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  3. Looking forward with concern to a future blogpost titled "Mugged by a Slovakian hitman".

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  4. Oh my, the flowers are gorgeous! We don't have any yet so that makes yours extra special. It's good to see the bees in the flowers. We need to protect them. Olga looks dashing in yellow! You're a nice person to try to locate that person. I hope he shows up. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

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  5. Olga! Wonder why she looks so guilty?
    I love the camellias and am happy to see the bees buzzing them.

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  6. We have huge camellia bushes at work & they've been blooming all winter & then freezing, then blooming, then freezing... I haven't seen any bumblebees though.

    I LOVE that Olga romps through the daffodils! It's my new favorite thing.

    And, um, for just a teensy flash I had the same thought as YP up there. Ha!

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  7. February does seem early for bees. We're not seeing them here yet, but it is literally freezing here this morning. Lovely Olga daffodil photo. And, keep us posted about the Slovakian ID card guy.

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  8. the early bee? I wonder if he's responding to the early blooms?

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  9. Oh my, look at all those daffodils. That is just gorgeous. And, Olga has stopped to give them a good sniff. Good for her. It does seem early in the year for bees to be appearing in places where it gets colder than here.

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  10. Yes I am surprised at your bees too.

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  11. What great shots of the bees - you can see all the fuzziness in that second one especially. We're supposed to get up to 10C one day this week - not our normal February at all. I don't think the bees will come out but I bet there'll be some flies that wake up.

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  12. It was awfully nice of you to locate that guy and message him. Those flowers and the bees are wonderful. I'm hoping for a not-too-hot Spring here.

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  13. Briony: No! I did see one in a crocus the other day, and that seemed unusual too.

    Alphie: I wish she were smelling them. I think she was just causing mischief.

    YP: LOL! It did cross my mind that this guy could be an unsavory character, but I'll risk it.

    Edna: I am always so happy to see bees. We DO need to do all we can for them.

    Ms Moon: Well, I was yelling at her to get out of the flowers!

    Bug: Camellias are amazingly resilient plants. And yeah, I've considered the possibility too.

    Robin: I'll let you know if he responds! So far, nothing.

    Red: Or the temperatures? Which I suppose are prompting the blooms. Hard to tell.

    Sharon: I looked back to see if I'd ever mentioned seeing them this early before, but I haven't. It definitely seems early to me.

    Catalyst: Hopefully they'll be OK if we get a cold snap!

    Jenny-O: It's definitely warmer everywhere!

    E: I hope so too!

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  14. I came upon a dying wasp in our utility room (open air) yesterday. Thought it was even early for here,. I’d rather find a happy bumblebee. I’m allergic to bee stings. As for Olga, I love her, but tell her she’s going on my list if she doesn’t stop destroying the daffodils.

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