I’ve seen things…strange and wonderful things.  Well, I wish it was really that dramatic, but I was just leafing back over some old pics the last few evenings, and I came across a few pics that I thought were cool.  We have been running so much lately with band and cross-country and soccer and work stuff.  It feels like there hasn’t been time to do anything …I almost said fun, but of course, all of that running is fun.  Sometimes it’s pretty easy, though, to lose sight of that.

Anyhow, a month or so ago, we were at my parents house visiting.  They like flowers and have a really nice flowerbed out front.  I took a few pics of the crop they had around there.  Pollinators were about gathering what pollen they could.  I love yellow flowers so their Black-eyed Susan’s were exquisite.  Yes, I just said that…shut up.

I was messing in the  bees awhile back and this time of year is interesting.  After spring and summer blooms pass and before fall blooms start, bees and hornets and wasps and yellow jackets all compete for limited resources.  I always see bunches of yellow jackets in particular, “make a go” at the beehives to try and steal a little of the honey they keep inside.  In a healthy hive, the bees keep the yellow jackets away easily.  In one hive box that was empty, but in my apiary, I took a look in to see if any bees or other critters were collecting any of the wax scraps that were about…Imagine my surprise when I saw these lovelies…They were not aggressive so I just put the lid back on and walked away…that’s how I roll.

I did find another nest in other bee stuff I had at the house and found a really cool looking nest.  It showed all stages of waspers inside…capped brood, larvae, and eggs.  You can kind of see them if you look hard and use your imagination.

This stuff fascinates me…I am always amazed at the wonders that are right under our noses!