Friday, April 3, 2009

First Bumblebee


It was a glorious day here in the northwestern corner of Ohio. With rain predicted later in the day, there were projects that needed some serious work time, and it was a true joy to be out there doing them. Dad came out to help Romie with the grape arbor and they got it done! More on that in a later blog post.

Late in the afternoon, I was walking around the yard with my camera, talking with our neighbor Tom about the daffodils that were blooming. I was taking photos of them when a bumblebee buzzed his way right into the frame. A bumblebee! Already!



She was clearly on a mission, as we watched her methodically flit from bloom to bloom of the 'Jetfire' daffodils.



She'd crawl inside the cup for a little bit, then with flecks of pollen sticking to her legs and fluffy body, she'd move on to the next bloom, pollinating all along the way. It was a glorious thing to behold.




This got me thinking. With early blooms, was our little bumblebee friend making an early appearance, too? The Ohio State University site says bumblebees in Ohio come out of hibernation in May. My calendar says it's April 2nd, so I guess she is early!

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Just a reminder: Enter the contest to win a pair of Ethel Gloves by leaving a comment to this blog post. Don't forget to mention which style of gloves you'd like to win! Deadline for entering is midnight April 3, 2009 (that's tonight!).

25 comments:

F Cameron said...

It does seem early for a bumblebee, but maybe that's an indicator of nice weather.

Love the arbor!

Cameron

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

How lovely. I saw the first one yesterday in my greenhouse. Great photos Kylee.

I wish you a happy and sunny weekend/ xoxo Tyra

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Yup she is early and what's more you were there to capture the whole event on camera. Well done you. ;-)

It's good to be out and about in the garden, isn't it, Kylee?

Louise Hartwig said...

Saw the post time. Not only is the bee early so are you.

Unknown said...

Wow, great pics. Congrats on the new project too! ~Brooke

Kristin said...

Beautiful pictures!! I wish it were that nice here in RI, we are under heavy fog for the second day in a row. Keep us posted on the grape arbor- its on my to-do list this summer.
ps- I think I like the gala gloves the best.

Gail said...

The first bumbles and honeybees are a lovely sight...thank you for sharing it with us! The carpenter bees are out and about here...they were the first I saw...then the honeybees woke up...I hope you have a garden filled weekend. gail

Muum said...

Awesome photos! hurray for your early visitor. I am planting borage this year to invite bees to visit our yard.

Meems said...

Hi there Kylee,
How wonderful to have a visit from the bumble already. And so nice of her little yellow and black body to land on the yellow daffs. I could just watch them do their acrobatics for a long time. We've had them here for many weeks now but I haven't managed to get a current (decent) photo. Good job with that new camera and your steady hand!
*hugs* and enjoy that early spring (I think we got early summer this week)
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

Phillip Oliver said...

I've seen a lot of bees this year and I suppose that is a good thing since they keep talking about them being almost endangered. I love the way she crawls all the way into that daffofil!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What great pictures! I just noticed that you have your camera on your sidebar. I'm planning to get a new one soon so that's very helpful.
Isn't it great to see the first bumblebees?!

Becca's Dirt said...

Oohh How nice is that. That is some fine camera you got there. What a set of photos. It is always good to find a bee... Becca

Pam/Digging said...

Aren't they funny looking? It's amazing that they can even fly, but seeing them squeeze into daffodil trumpets without tipping them over is too cute. Looks like spring in your neck of the woods, Kylie.

Unknown said...

The only bees that have seen anywhere so far this year were on my neighbour's heathers. Other than that, we are bee-less.

Connie said...

Just a little jealous here, because bees don't come out until the sun does and we haven't seen it but a couple of days this month. Next week is it in the forecast so I hope to see a bee, too! Shoot, I would even be happy to see a wasp at this point. :-)

Kerri said...

We had the beautiful sunshine and warm temps yesterday. A wonderful taste of spring, complete with honey bees, but no bumbles yet. It does seem early.
Rain and clouds today, with more to come for the next 5 days, including snow showers tomorrow :(
I can see the specks of pollen on her little body. Especially love the photo of her in the trumpet.

Brenda Pruitt said...

I was just outside. And the bees are buzzing all about the shrubs and plants. They seemed so happy and intent!
Brenda

Melissa said...

Great Photos!!!

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Love the bumbles. I saw my first butterfly a couple of days ago. It must be spring in spite of the weather. The grape arbor looks fabulous.~~Dee

Diana said...

Kylee -- what a cool thing you captured there with your beautiful and clear photos. She clearly didn't mind you being there as she went about her business. I could just imagine her moving around with your descriptive narrative. We have lots of bees -- all over the lemon tree blooms and the Sumac and Lantana, but then we are supposed to have them! I'm so glad yours are early - what a treat!

daniel (writing problems) said...

Lovely shots of bees... well, technically, of a bee. I was out yesterday taking photos and videos of honeybees working the crocus clusters. One daffodil opened today, but the temperature is plunging.

TheOrganicSister said...

We've been spotting bees too, although it's not too early for us. Beauitful photos! You can see the little guy I captured here: http://theorganicsister.com/2009/03/fungus-and-bees/

:)

~Tara

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Great photos of the bee Kylee. It was certainly busy.

Unknown said...

Yea for bumblebees (as you know, I adore bees. ) What a lovely one she is; I hope she is well sheltered from the weather later on (because we know it will play an April fool or two on us yet).

Wayne Stratz said...

wonderful photos. I caught view of a honey bee visiting a crocus on a cold day not so long ago

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