Tag: bees

wings and things

I’ve said before that I’m not fond of birds, but they are a recurring theme of my poetry. I don’t, however, have many photos of birds as they so seldom stay still long enough to capture on film. (Hmm… I don’t suppose we capture anything on film anymore if we use digital cameras, so maybe that phrase must be considered an inelegant variation.)

I do a little better with photos of bugs and insects as they often seem less bothered by the approach of a camera lens and will sometimes sit still for hours on the same flower head.
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last of the summer

It’s September already and although we’ve had a fair bit of sunshine this week, there begins to be a decidedly autumnal hint in the air. This morning, though, before the rain started, I was surprised to come across this glorious reminder that it really is still summer: not just a golden sunflower, but a – fairly well-camouflaged – bee.

Since I took the picture a few hours ago, the wind has got up and the rain has come in earnest, but I am safe and warm indoors so I’m not really complaining. Despite the temptation, then, I didn’t feel I could justify calling this post “last of the summer whine”.

too busy

I don’t have time to write very much today, so am settling for posting a picture of a busy bee.

bumble bee on mock orange blossomBees are familiar visitors to the blog, so if you want to read more, click that link and check out some old posts.

fancy pants

Looking through recent photos, it occurs to me that when I take pictures of bees they almost invariably end up as rear views.

white-bottomed bumble bee on teasel
This doesn’t seem to make much sense: surely it’s unwise to creep up on a creature whose defence mechanism is probably automatic and very much located in its rear end.
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bees and birds

Last week I wrote a post – summing up – in which I did a quick round up of some of my recent writing activities. I think I hoped to give the impression that I was a real busy bee.

But not every insect that fumbles the flowers is a bee.

Hoverfly in greater bindweed flower
Similarly, not all frantic activity is genuinely useful. I wonder how much of my busy-ness is real, and how much is just headless-chickening.
Duck: female mallard dabbling in river. Head not visible

 

idiomatic

I’m not sure if this counts as a hairy situation:

bee and clematis tangutica seed head (old man's beard)
It’s clearly not the cat’s whiskers. But it might be the bee’s knees.

feeling antsy

ant carrying seed
I get lots of newsletters in my inbox and barely have time to do more than scan them, but earlier this week, the headline “Sisterhood of Ants: The Original Social Network” caught my eye, so I clicked through to read the opening paragraph:

As we struggle to understand what it means to be social creatures who meaningfully participate in communities and networks, ants and mice (and the scientists who study them) may be able to tell us something about ourselves.

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