Bee stroll

Took a slow stroll through the white clover at Noelridge Park this afternoon, counting bees.

I lost count, actually, but the totals were something like a dozen honeybees, seven or nine bumblebees, three or four hoverbees (one of them about 1/8"), a few yellow sulfurs and a little black-and-orange skipper, plus half a dozen accidental Japanese beetles (they weren't there for the clover, and they're everywhere this year).

This in a swath about thirty feet wide and two tenths of a mile long. More bees than I've seen this year, so far, yes. But nothing like when I was a kid. That kind of path on a warm sunny day like today would have been chock-a-block with buzz in the old days. The little blue butterflies the size of a dime are gone, too.

Kind of fun. I haven't a wasted a good slow, quiet hour like this in ages (no "walking for exercise," no agenda except counting bees.)

The trick to seeing which is to keep a weather eye on your feet because you're probably about to step on a bumblebee! If your clumsy feet are where they should be, look for wiggling clover blossoms about ten or fifteen feet off in a big circle. It's a bit comical sometimes. A bumblebee can bend a clover stem clear to ground, but she's usually on the other side of the blossom.