A Cup of Bee

These bloomed on Saturday while the sun was shining


I went to cut a bouquet and found a little surprise!


A cup of bee...isn't he just bee-autiful!

I can't say I've ever been a bee lover. I was the one that would swat bees away whenever they flew near me. I wasn't terrified of bees, but I didn't like them invading my space. That is, until Mrs. Nagy's brother, Adam, invited us to his carriage house several years ago.

I remember getting out of my car with Caleb and Rachel and seeing the sign that said, "Warning! Danger! Bee Hives on Premises!" OK. That scared me right there. Actually, as we walked closer I could see them everywhere. And I mean everywhere. The entire front of the property was planted with bee balm and every kind of beautiful flower you could imagine. But there were bees everywhere. Adam assured me everything was fine and just to, "Come on back!" The closer I walked to the hives, the harder my heart was pounding. Everything in me just said to stop and go back. Protect your children. Protect your children. Protect your children. Thankfully, I didn't listen to that inner voice that knew nothing about honeybees.

The kids and I learned many lessons about bees that day and I've been in love with honeybees ever since. They are an incredible work of the Master's hand.

Adam has a trickling water fountain on his front porch where the bees come and get a drink. He told us the story about the day he was sitting on the front porch watching the bees flying over to the water fountain to get a drink. Suddenly, one of the little guys lost his footing and fell into the water. He said he watched as several bees tried to help rescue the drowning bee. And they succeeded in their rescue!

We donned bee suits. We watched worker bees manning the entrance to the hives as they looked out for predators. We watched sick bees being carried out of the hive. We watched nectar laden bees fly in to drop off their loads. We smoked the hives. We opened the hives to give them food for the winter. We have harvested honey. We have nibbled on fresh honeycomb. We did just about everything you could do except experience a bee sting! It was an amazing experience for our family.

A couple of years ago Adam gave me several lavender plants. I have them planted in the front landscaping. Oh, my! You should see the honeybees once the lavender is in bloom. I love watching them!

So imagine my surprise when I headed out Saturday afternoon to pick a bouquet of peonies. With scissors in hand, I stooped to cut my first flower. Then I heard a familiar buzzing and saw movement inside the bloom. A precious little honeybee was loading up on nectar. The pockets on his back legs were bulging with yellow gold. I looked in every single peony bloom and found, in most cases, two to three honeybees collecting nectar. It was the coolest sight!

Instead of cutting a bouquet of my favorite flowers, I decided it would be best to leave them for the honeybees.

Be a friend to a bee today!