Bee islands

kw: chores, wildlife

Mowing earlier today, I saw a few dozen honeybees; the first time I've seen more than one at a time in several years. They were working over the clover flowers in the yard. I began to regret that I was turning my yard into a bee desert by mowing off nearly all the blooms. So I chose two patches that are nearly all clover with very little grass and mowed around them. They are oases for the honeybees.

My sunflowers for this year's Great Sunflower Project are about half grown. Buds have appeared on the largest plant, so I'll be taking statistics starting in another week or so. Honeybees seldom come to sunflowers, which have no nectar. The Project monitors wild bee activity. Most wild bees are pollen gatherers.