Day #264 Birds Get Scared -- Bees Don't Care

There is something infintiely relaxing about bees that I simply don't experience with the dozens of birds who beautify my yard with their myriad colors and songs and flitterings.

You see, even though I've been feeding these birds in this yard ever since I moved into this house seven years ago, they still startle every time I open the front door. And they used to do it every time I moved a curtain or walked past a window--until I got smart and installed energy-film on the windows. I hadn't realized it when I bought the stuff, but not only does the film block out a lot of heat, it gives a mirrored look to the outside of the windows, so the birds can't see inside!

That means I can stand there and watch the birds without their knowing I'm observing them. So they don't go careening away. That's good. But as soon as I open the front door, look out! They scatter as if I were stalking them.

Now, I don't mind that, not really. It's a survival instinct.

Fine.

But it's not very relaxing.

Bees, on the other handm couldn't care less if I open doors, stand at windows, fling back the curtains. I can walk right up to their hives (as long as I don't flail my arms around) or perch myself in a chair nearby, and they don't mind.

Ahhh!!! It's so lovely to be trusted.


BEEattitude for Day #264:
     Blessed are those who trust, for they shall be peaceful.

http://www.franstewart.com/

Day #176 Stained!

Finally! Finally, the weather cooperated enough for me to finish staining the uprights on the deck. Now I won’t have to worry about the bees getting their little feet stuck in yucky stain.

And while I was rummaging around in the garage, I came across an outdoor re-circulating fountain that a neighbor gave me six years ago when I moved into this house. It needed some work, and I hadn’t had time to fiddle with it, so I’d stuck it aside and eventually buried it under other junk. Why do I collect so much stuff in my garage? Do you do that, too? Still, I repaired it and set it up on the deck, so now there’s a fountain that drips a drop every second or so. The birds will enjoy it, I think.

I still need to buy one more cinder block so I can set the hives up off the deck surface, and then I’ll be ready. We’re almost there: Bee-Day is on the horizon!

BEEattitude for Day # 176:

       Blessed are those who are hungry for knowledge, for they shall find enjoyment all around them.

What Fran is grateful for right now:

       Bluebirds, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, pine siskins, Eastern towhees, chickadees, goldfinches, and tufted titmice, plus all the others I don’t know the names of.    

http://www.franstewart.com

Day #93 Birdseed for breakfast?

Right at the moment, which happens to be 10 a.m. on a very snowy, schools-closed, roads blocked, skylights covered, January 10th Monday morning (this is one of the blogs I wrote ahead of time in case the power goes out later today), I'm sitting at the table that nestles into my bay window watching the birds. I have lots of feeders out in the front yard, and those are mobbed this morning. I went out just after dawn and set a big tray of seed on the five or six inches of snow that fell last night, so the ground-feeders would have something to eat. As soon as I came back in the house, the first brave bird descended, checked out that unusual object, and discovered FOOD. Within moments a hoarde of birds fluttered around it, warming their tummies and my heart.

So, although I've never fed the birds on my back deck, not particularly wanting to encourage the leaving of bird fertilizer on the wooden planks, this morning was an exception. I swept away a swath of snow near the door, used the broom handle to write my grandchildren's names in a stretch of untouched snow, then scattered a few handfuls of seed on the bare flooring, wondering how long it would take the birds to find this new food source. By the time I walked from my back door to the bay window, they'd found it.

Cardinals, titmice, towhees, wrens, chickadees, and a few others I can't identify. Even a downy woodpecker stopped by to investigate the goings on.

Now Daisy, her whiskers twitching, is perched on the corner of the table, quivering. No wonder I don't have a TV. This is much more interesting.

Next year, if it snows again, I'll be able to look out on my deck and see the birds and the bees. Hmm...

BEEattitude for Day # 93:

       Blessed are those who feed the birds, for their ears and hearts shall be filled with singing. 

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       Wild Birds Unlimited, where I buy all my birdseed 

http://www.franstewart.com/

Day #76 Lion Fish and Carolina Wrens

I looked out my bay window yesterday when I heard the distinctive trill of a Carolina Wren. She hopped from a bush of indeterminate lineage (which simply means I haven't yet figured out what kind it is) up to the deck railing, and from there to the rim of the bird bath. She (he?) looked up at me in a meaningful way, so I scooted outside and refilled the bird feeders, then came back inside to watch the antics of the chickadees and wrens and woodpeckers and all that assortment who know that a sucker lives in this house.

That's the sort of thing I look at on a regular basis, and next Spring I'll be able to add bees to my routine.

My son, on the other hand, looks at things like this:

Lion Fish by Yelloideas Photography

      and this:



Table Coral by Yelloideas Photography



from places like this:



Inside the Boiler of a Wreck by Yelloideas Photography



Can you see why I like to be where I am, enjoying his perpatetic ramblings on my computer and my phone? And watching my birds (and eventually, the bees) from a place of warmth and space?

BEEattitude for Day # 76:

       Blessed are the adventurers - and blessed are those who stay home, for we all shall enjoy our nature encounters. 

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       Hot tea