Bees, bees, everywhere

What is it about bees and me lately? (See earlier entries 1, 2) Not only did I happen upon 2 books about bees, it seems that part of our neighbors small hive "swarmed" and is heading off to find a new home.

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My wife found this collection hanging from one of our rose bushes this afternoon. Quite an amazing sight to suddenly appear in your garden. Of course, other people would be more worried about Africanized Honeybees in their garden. These showed no inclination to attack and the size of the swarm made them less of a threat, as well. I figure they will be gone by morning, nicely ensconced in some tree or someone's attic. Hopefully, not mine!

I let my neighbor know about the swarm in case he wanted to use them to start a new hive. My reading has shown me that you can stage a new hive box near the swarm, bait it with food and the swarm will gather in the new box, giving you a whole new colony.

The nature of Los Angeles (even the urban areas) will never cease to amaze me.

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Gardening for Stress Release

About.com has an interesting link to this article, Gardening for Stress Release in their Stress Management section.

While most of the time gardening is indeed a great way to relax and get some exercise, there are times when I feel guilty when projects go un-done for long periods of time. That said, there is a certain magic in sitting in my back garden, watching the birds and squirrels. I think if you can keep your perfectionist gene from bothering you too much, gardening is a wonderful retreat when the world is just a little too loud or a little too fast.

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