A new bee…every day
Not really thrilled about this pic. But it’s interesting nonetheless. Metallic-looking leafcutter doing what it does. In addition to the action, I really like the beeneck. Not something you see very often. Hard to see. Such small critters. You can also see how much of the leaf (rose, if I remember right) it’s chewed up.
Was really, really hot yesterday. It seems that normally, here along the Wasatch Front, we shift from Spring to Summer weather in a single day. Well, that day was yesterday. That said, we had a really long (and nearly perfect) Spring. The most Spring-like Spring I can ever remember. (Not that that’s saying anything, but…)
Really like the detail on the eye…and the pollen on this one. Not so sure about the crop, but the salvia is neat, too. The depth.
I like posting fresh ones…so here’s one from yesterday. But that means I have to go where the bees are. And, recently, they’ve been on this particular geranium. Decent in-flight grab. And as much as the bee – or even moreso – I like the depth of the geraniums. That’s a frustration with photography – 2D of 3D. Such a poor approximation of beauty sometimes.
They’ve been on the salvias a lot, too. One particular one that’s South-facing (so a bit ahead of the other ones in maturity) was just throbbing…humming with bees the other evening. The shadows were bad so it didn’t make for great shots, but my “face cam” ate it up.
What a wonderful time of year. So life-affirming. There’s really something magical about being among the flowers and bees and other, growing things. Resets my perspective and attitude.
Need to get some on the pink, darker red, and orange ones… Stole a few moments to shoot yesterday and came up with a few good ones. I like this one a lot. Printed it again this morning…looks really good on paper.
(Mini Digression next.) Went to the city offices yesterday to see about having a mini, spontaneous art fair on our lawn. Seems like the default answer in those offices is “NO”!! Overheard a number of conversations between residents and “officials”, and that’s always the first play. Seems like, if they truly work for us, they’d be figuring out how to say “yes”…helping those for whom they ostensibly work. Not so. So…apparently I cannot use our lawn for a one-off art sale. I’m looking in to different venues, but…
Enjoy the bee. Beauty and calm and joy in that shot.
Haven’t shot for a few days. Managed to get stung right on my temple yesterday (was about fifteen feet from a hive when a frame got shaken off and someone got mad) and that kind of wrecked the afternoon. Think I’m a little allergic – left eye swollen nearly shut. So today’s bee comes from March of this year.
I like the clarity of her eye and the pollen on it. Didn’t find a crop that I liked so this one will do for now. Maybe I’ll fiddle a bit and replace it with something that sits/fits better (if I get to it). Normally the crops are pretty intuitive for me, but this one seems off.
Maybe this is a little better. Which one do you like best?
Been getting pretty lucky catching some legit shots in flight. I really like the eye and tongue and the pollen on her head on this one. Even a bit of the wings. Shot this one last Friday – didn’t pick up the camera much yesterday or Sunday.
However…kept my booth/tent up yesterday (still didn’t get any pictures shot of it – hopefully this morning) and had so many people stop by and enjoy the art – not only bees, but also birds, flowers, wildlife – sundry stuff. Great conversations with neighbors and people who drove by. Really enjoyable. Art is essential.
Printed this one out this morning and it’s pretty stunning. She such a beauty. Get in touch (bees@bees.photo) if you’d like one of these shots for your wall. We’ll get it figured out.
In this one you get to see the two different colors of this geranium (it’s two plants). She looks really good – hairy eyeball and all.
Not much on the narrative today. Yesterday I set up my art booth/tent on the front lawn to take some pictures of it. Had lots of people stop as they were driving/walking by and have a look. The response was gratifying. I think people are thirsty for “non-essential” art.
Helianthemum – also known as rock rose, sunrose, rushrose, and frostweed. As I mentioned before, fantastic for pollinators.
A bit windy yesterday and this isn’t a particularly good shot of the flower – but look at those pollen buckets on her. Wondering how full is too full. And of course her filthy face. Another thing to notice is her underside. Such a neat pattern there. Very cool little bee today.
Been watching this bumble for a couple of weeks at least. She lives somewhere under the catmint. She either cannot fly or is very, very bad at it. Most of the times that I see her, she’s crawling around in the dirt at the edge of the catmint. Sometimes she’ll climb up to the blossoms and move around some. I’ve seen her try to fly from blossom to blossom, but she usually falls down a few levels. Have never seen her try to fly up from the dirt – she only climbs. Anyway, here’s a nice shot of her from yesterday:
This is a pretty good-sized bush, but given how it sits under a cypress tree, the light and shadows make it tough to get good shots. And it’s fairly inaccessible. That said, here’s a nice shot.
It’s very fragrant…not in a cloying way, but in a way that makes me smile. The bees and other pollinators love it. And it’s beautiful.
