The Buzz Around the Back Door

Outside my back door are two prickly shrubs that scratch me to pieces every year when I try to trim them. For a week or two every spring, however, they are the delight of the local bee and wasp population. Tiny green flowers blossom, sweet in smell and irresistable to the bees.

For the first several years I lived here I dreaded the bloom because it was unnerving to run the gauntlet between the humming plants when they were covered with things I only thought of as "stinging bugs." Emphasis on the "stinging."

Tonight, instead of running past, I stood with my camera, nose practically touching the bees as I tried to take their pictures. Turns out, bees don't mind photography. They are quite tame when you leave them to their business. They could care less about me, since the heady smell of the flower has all their attention.

I also learned that it is very hard to take pictures of bees. They don't hang around. By the time the camera focuses, they are on to the next sweet smelling flower.

See bumblebee and neighbor bee entries below for results of tonight's shoot.