Sleeping Bees
Beginning early summer our 17-year-old lavender down by the parking strip becomes a haven for Bumblebees. During the day it hums with activity.
Come evening the activity winds down and the bees settle in and sleep distributed among the spikes. Little fuzzy, black, completely still dots. My summer evening ritual is wandering the yard and looking for all the places I can spot the bees at rest.
It’s surprising to me the wide variety of Bumblebee sleeping styles. Some curl up and nestle into a little nook. Others splay flat out on a bloom. And some just hang upside down, legs wrapped around a stem.
“You should photograph them,” Aaron said.
So last night he set me up.
I planted my perennial garden (using Piet Oudolf as my guide) mostly for the bees. Here it is in its current mid-July state.
And herewith are the Sleeping Bees I captured in my garden on July 20th…
Wise words from Mary Oliver…
These pictures are so endearing! I have never stopped to think about whether or where bees sleep. How could I have been so callous. We all need our rest and certainly our busy bees deserve the right. Thank you, Kelsi. May I not become another know-it-all who misses it all.
Beautiful pictures! Another protege 💖