Breathe

I found these in my house!
I am breathing a sigh of relief!
They are dried up!

Bees, Honeycombs, Circles, and Hexagons and Creative Challenges

I read a very interesting article in the newspaper today about bees and honeycombs and the shape of honeycombs.
Did you know that bees spit out wax for honeycombs while turning in a circle? Did you know that honeycombs are actually round and not shaped like a hexagon? Do these honeycombs look like a hexagon? Yes, they do. Do you know why?

When circles are pushed together and compressed, they become hexagons which is one of the most effective shapes for storing honey, except for circles. Bees spit out wax while spinning in a circle, remember?

Now, does that make sense? I think so.

Next, look at the colors here. Is there more than one color in the honey comb? How many colors do you see?

Now, for the creative challenge. Make a piece of art: a bead, a drawing, a painting, a vessel, a type of glass: You get the picture. Take a picture and send it to me. I'd love to see what you create. I'll feature you in my blog! Let me know. This could be interesting.

I Told You Before, I Like Weeds!

We've talked about weeds before. I honestly didn't realize it, but it's been very dry. I went outside and noticed the plants and bushes in my garden. Most of them were wilted and limp. (Does this tell you about my love of gardening?) Of course, I started the hose and was watering the limp plants. They did appreciate that! As I was watering, I noticed that there were bees all around me. I am highly allergic to bee stings, so I took a quick breath in. I noticed, though, that the bees were not interested in me. They were hovering and sinking into the gorgeous purple flowers attached to a (gasp!) weed. Aren't the flowers pretty? Yet, this is a weed that is growing strong in spite of dry conditions.
All right, back to the bees. The bees love these little flowers. While I was out watering, I was surrounded by big, fat bumble bees, little tiny bees, and the in between size. None of them were interested in me. They were hovering and diving into the flowers moving the pollen and taking back nectar to the hives. For once, I felt so safe among the bees. I ran upstairs to get my camera. When I got back, I this is what I found.


















The photo is a bit blurry, but it was awesome to be so close to the bees. Here's another photo.


















The bees were still there. Anyone know the name of this weed? I don't, but I'm sure glad it's in my back yard.