Bee Season

"A bee is never as busy as it seems;
it's just that it can't buzz any slower."
~Kim Hubbard

{Image Copyright, Natalie Dee, 1995}

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are quickly coming to an end. And the passing of one season into the next is not far behind. But in the meantime we have bee season. The time when these buzzing bees seem to appear out of thin air and multiply at will. But it is also the season where I need to be as busy as...

One day I found a dead bee on the floor of my studio. And then another...and another...and another. On a different day I was sitting at my studio counter that is a moss green color and filled with a veritable forest floor of camoflage, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one of my beads seemed to be walking towards me...but no, it was not a bead, but a BEE! That freaked me out, but yet we could not find out where they were coming from.

Today I walked into my studio to find two dead on the floor, one dead on top of some pile of something on my counter, and two or three live and just sitting there, waiting for me to step on them. As I moved in for a closer look at one on the pile, another dropped right out of the air and just missed my head. This one was very much alive.

Just so you know, I don't want to kill bees, but I also don't want a hive in my house. I have had some slight moments of panic as I work in my studio all alone late at night and I have irrational fears that I will be swarmed by these bees. Lest you think that I am just a wanton bee-killer {did I ever tell you how my childhood friend and I used to run over the bees in his yard on my tricycle? Maybe they are coming back to exact their vengeance...but it was more him than me. Really.}, I am very much in favor of the honeybees and all that they do to help pollinate the plants to bring us a wonderful array of blooming plants. Did you know that honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate and 1/3 of the worlds' food relies on their pollination efforts?

You may know Haagen-Dazs as the purveyor of some yummy ice cream {Chocolate Chocolate Chip is my very favorite}, they have mounted a campaign to save the honeybees from extinction. {Sounds like the plot of an animated movie starring Jerry Seinfeld...but perhaps that was art imitating life...}

You should know that my husband was a bit skeptical that there were bees at all, despite the pile that I was saving of those frozen in time ones to show him. I would walk in, find a few bees, collect them and then leave for a few minutes. He would go in to check and not find any. And then when I would return a few minutes later, there they would be, as if they had some bee-transporter to materialize at will. I was starting to think that they were just messing with me, these bees. I begged him to do something about it, but of course I would be finding these unwanted visitors late at night, when it would be difficult to find their entry point. He would tell me that they could be coming in from anywhere. But they weren't everywhere in my house, only concentrated to this one room. This afternoon, I had had enough. I went seeking a place where my swarm was congregating. And it didn't take me long to find that they were sneaking en masse through a hole around the pipe for the electric meter.

Great.

Now what?

So I woke my husband up from his last-day-of-the-three-day-weekend-celebratory nap and told him that I found the spot. So now he had to believe me and he got out the caulk and the wasp spray to save the day.

Now? I have a studio ceiling filled with pissed, trapped and likely dying bees.

And a whole host of projects that have to be finished by Tuesday. {Have you ever tried to concentrate when you hear buzzing?}

Can you tell I am a bit concerned about going back into my studio until they have buzzed their last? I am afraid of the nightmares that will come from having an angry horde in my walls. But even more so I am pissed myself that I cannot work when I actually have a day - and daylight hours - to do it! My husband insists that they are "sweat bees"... {have you ever heard of such lunacy? Actually, I looked it up and it's true! Who knew?} that they will come to you when you are sweating, but they don't really want to sting you. {Oh, so those stingers they have are just like body piercings...totally useless and just for show...}

Do you think the charities that are waiting for their promised donations (that are both late already) will understand the excuse that the swarm kept me from it? Maybe. But I hate excuses.

Some of the bees I found that were dead of natural causes {or simply killed by the sight of the clutter in my studio} yet had their wings fully extended and are beautiful specimens. Makes me long for that summer of 1984 when I was expected to come back to school in the fall with a complete bug collection on those little pushpins...I failed that project miserably {probably since I waited until the week before school started to try to catch 50 different species of insects in my backyard...} I placed these buzzers gingerly in a small plastic container so that I could study them from all the angles. But I want to honor their beauty as much as they scare me silly. I have a crazy notion to encase a few in ICE Resin...is that crazy-good?...or just plain crazy?

And I found this chart from the USDA on "How to Identify the Bumblebees of Northern Idaho" {so that is what the USDA does? Make honeybee identification charts, including a pocket sized one that I can carry in my wallet?!?}. These look so much like a strand of beads, I think that I may have found an inspiration......watch for a continuation of the bee season inspiration soon.

This has been a bizarre bit of inspiration, but in true Treasures Found style, inspiration can be found anywhere!

What is the most bizarre inspiration you have found? Do tell!

Check It Out::Help The Honeybees {bee sure to click on the link to Bee TV and watch the hysterical dance videos!}

Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

Thanks so much to Andrew Thornton. He had a giveaway for a one of a kind necklace as a way to help his friend. I was the lucky winner and couldn't be happier.

Thanks so much to Lorelei Eurto for sponsoring a regular giveaway of themed charms from Green Girl Studios in honor of the new book Enchanted Adornments by Cynthia Thornton coming out in November. I won the Fairy themed charms and Lorelie is now holding the next themed giveaway. Be sure to go and post a comment. I just pre-ordered my copy of the book. Do you have yours yet?

And don't forget to enter your comment on this post for the Treasures Found September Giveaway! You have until Friday, September 11.

Enjoy the day!