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| "Resilience" by Autumn Skye ©2017 |
I saw this image on Facebook a week ago and, based on the watermark, managed to find the artist's website. Autumn Skye creates beautiful images, and this one is my favorite. It really speaks to me. Were it not for bees, my garden efforts (and much more) would be for naught.
Whenever I visit my kitchen garden, it is abuzz with honey bees, bumble bees and other pollinators. They allow me to work among them, too. If I don't bother them, they don't bother me...and I always leave blossoms for them to feast on, too. I know they need the nectar for the hives up the hill, or to nourish themselves for the winter ahead. I'm more than happy to share.
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| "Jasmine Bees" - ©2018 DLiljegren-Brynwood Needleworks |
I had a lovely day yesterday with Daughter-in-Law #2. We went shopping in Cedarburg (WI), shared a delightful lunch at an old stone farmhouse restaurant called "The Farmstead", and even made it to a local farm market (Witte's) so I could bring home fresh produce for dinner.
Before I turned for home, I stopped at the home of one of her and our son's friends. They have concord grapes growing on an arbor in their back yard, which they offered to me for the picking. I'll be sharing grape jam with them when I make it today.
When I arrived at their house, I was greeted by a huge jasmine bush (comparable in size to those we had in Florida), and the fragrance was intoxicating. I knew I'd be taking a picture to show you. When I got closer, I saw that it, too, was humming with bees. It was a veritable feast for them, and they weren't wasting the opportunity! (I managed to capture two of them in this shot.)
After taking a few pictures, I walked to the back of their yard, where they told me I'd find all the grapes I cared to pick. I was also warned about the mosquitoes, which are legion in Wisconsin this year. No kidding, I had to battle them to harvest about three gallons of grapes! I pulled my jacket up over my head and closed it across my face to keep them from swarming my ears and face. Even so, I left looking like I'd played goalie in a dart game! My face was pocked with "sting and go" mosquito marks. Thankfully, they weren't full-blown bites, and by the time I got home, the redness had disappeared.
Handsome and I will be making Grape Jam and the last batch of Zucchini & Pepper Relish for this year, plus canning pears over the weekend. All that will be left is applesauce. First things first. I can almost smell the grape goodness rising in the kitchen.
In my older and wiser self I have come to appreciate bees much more than ever before. I used to have Whooley Thyme and each year when it blossomed its precious tiny lavender colored flowers I would sit and watch the bees of all types and sizes as they worked those tiny flowers. Only after they were completely gone would I trim that ground cover amongst the flagstones. Your day was lovely...except those dratted mosquitos! Blissful Canning Dear...<3
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