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One evening, I was wandering around the garden with my new D600 and a sweet hunk of glass, the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8, when Susan told me of a bee sleeping in a nearby purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a plant with many uses not the least of which is… attracting bees.

Now, I don’t know what they put in that stuff, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen bees passed out after collecting a load of pollen. One time, we witnessed a bee waking up on a flower, stumbling around in a bit of stupor, then clumsily flying away to what we presume would be his home base.

Gardens are lovely because as you spend more time in the relatively confined space, you begin to focus in on little things that you might ordinarily miss. And if you sit long enough, nature comes to you, and you begin to recognize the patterns that individual creatures take through the landscape.

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In our garden, every visiting bee is a precious resource. It’s an interesting turnabout, since many of us were raised to fear their sting. Now, we encourage them in, give them a wide berth, and let them go about the business of pollinating the plants. No bees == No fruit.

This little guy was taking a break on some black bean plants, allowing me the chance to shoot from all angles. As I swung around for a front-on view, he kicked his leg forward to grab the leaf. I imagined that he was getting a bit possessive about it, so I deferred the closer shot and backed up a bit.

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While shooting the interior of the house featured in “Life Amongst the Ruins“, I noticed that heavy growth of wisteria had taken over the back of the house. With its vibrant color, I thought it would make a good subject against the backdrop of weathered wood siding. It’s a fascinating plant in that for a week or two each spring, the colors really pop. After the decline of the blossoms, though, it begins to resemble nothing more than an invasive vine.

It wasn’t until I was post-processing this image that I noticed a little visitor. If you look closely just above the vine, near the bottom of the first slat, you’ll see someone who loves the flowers even more than we do.

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Stealthy little dude, isn’t he?

While shooting bees working over our new lemon trees (Too Loaded to Fly), I noticed this guy tucked in deep among the flowers.

It’s nice to see that in addition to the lemon trees providing fruit and the most delightful aroma you could imagine, we’re also feeding the local wildlife. Bees are having a tough time of it, lately. Symbiosis rocks!

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On another nice, spring day (not like we’ve had winter here), I found the local bees working on our new lemon tree. This little guy was so loaded down with pollen that he could barely lift off. He’d fly up, lumber around seemingly in slow motion, and then set back down on the flower.

What to do if your flight is delayed? Go back and get more, of course.

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© 2012 Rob Hanson Photography, All Rights Reserved

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There’s nothing better than a warm place, a bit of nectar, and a good snooze.

Without a doubt, this has been one of the mildest winters for this area. Even though I’ve lived in colder places like Montréal and New Hampshire, now that I’ve moved to the south, I don’t miss the snow at all.

On one particularly warm day in December, we noticed a large bee working on a new Meyers Lemon tree that we have waiting to go in the ground. He seemed a bit sluggish, until we realized that he had fallen asleep! Later, as the sun warmed even more, he flew on his way.

Single exposure, f/3.5, ISO400, 1/160s

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