Bees

After the rain

It had rained for two days, and my mood had been grey and heavy-ish like the weather.

He welcomed the warmth of my finger.

It had rained for two days, and today my mood had been grey and heavy-ish like the weather. The bees had been hanging on to the clusters of flowers as best as they could - too wet to fly - and I had been worried about them.

When it finally stopped, the Goldenrods were bent under their own weight, heavy with water, but we (me, the pups, and the insects) were all relieved. The bees were slowly waking up from their torpor, but most of them were drenched; only a few were flying, many were fueling up on nectar.

A bumble bee sticking out his tongue - er, proboscis.

A bumble bee was struggling to regain her hold on a stem, so I offered him my finger. I was quite surprised that he climbed on it right away, but even more surprised when he didn’t want to leave - until I realized he was cold, and my finger was dry, and warm.

He was pretty exhausted, but I knew it would not work long-term.

I let him rest for a few minutes, but I soon had to have "the talk". I had to explain to him that our relationship would not work long-term, and that I wouldn’t be able to give him what he needed. He countered that I had exactly what he needed, but I think he understood my point.

The bees were not the only ones recovering from the rain and the sudden temperature drop. I finally got some quality time with a couple of green bottle flies.

Flies can be pretty, too!

And they are pollinators as well.

I also took some photos of what I assumed was just a colorful tiny bug. But once I looked more closely, I realized she was a moth (although she holds her antennae up and forward, rather than backwards, alongside her body.)