Bee Nice

Although I call them “my” flower beds, much of the credit is due the dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny assistant gardeners bustling out there even as I write. Many of my associates are honeybees that come from some hives about a quarter mile away. Others are of wilder or bumbler ilk, but we all work side by side in floral harmony.

I did witness a mid-air skirmish the other day. One of the bees, intent on its hunt for the tastiest Echinacea nectar, accidentally flew into one of its colleagues, who took offense. Being too busy to come to blows, they buzzed crossly at one another but then hurried back to business, as did I. August wanes, and summer’s blooms can be brought to a screeching halt with one early September frost, so there’s no time for Apidaen hostilities.

“Those with good sense are slow to anger,
    and it is their glory to overlook an offense.” –PROVERBS 19:11 (NRSV)