Somewhere, Bees Are Flying...

 

 

On this cloudy, drizzly Oregon day it feels appropriate to post some pictures of bees flying in the sunshine, gathering nectar and pollen from exotic sources.  My bees are clustered inside their hive, thinking how tired of they are of pollen patties and dampness.  I won't show them these pictures. 

 

Above, a bee pollinating a large banana flower.

 

 Seductive orange blossoms...

  A large black sweat bee on Rosemary....


 Sabal palmetto inflorescences.  Palmetto honey is exquisite - sweet and spicy.

Roses blooming - in early March. 

Fast Forward

I admit it. I'm a Florida girl. And this week I am back home visiting family and friends on the first solo trip I have taken in over seven years.  Although I love everything about Oregon and have no plans to leave, my heart is still in Florida. 

Yesterday I was in Gainesville - home of the Gators and place where three generations of my family have gone to school.  And of course I went bee-hunting.  I found some on the edge of the prairie...

These bees are are too busy flying over fields of flowering brassicas and strawberries to care about their comrades in Oregon, still clustered tight in their brood boxes waiting for spring.  The weather here is warm and sunny and feels like a summer day by Pacific Northwest standards.  

The hives are simpler too.  There are no screened bottom boards, ventilated inner covers, telescoping tops and massive feeders like you need in a cool, wet climate.  

Soon this southern girl will travel back to Oregon with my bag full of honey from palmetto, gallberry, and tupelo, and work to get my bees ready for spring. But I'll leave my heart here in Florida.

Live oak hammock

Go Gators!

Pine flatwoods

Old homestead oranges