World Bee Day

Who knew there was a World Bee Day?  But, as far as I'm concerned, every day is world bee day.  This is a miner bee of some kind, a very small bee that I usually only see in the spring.  And you'll see that her pollen sacks are totally loaded.  There were also some two-spotted bumble bees in the rhododendrons who were so loaded with pollen that I'm not even sure how they could fly.  

While I was hovering near the rhododendron, I happened to notice that the female swallow was in the nest box, keeping an eye on me.  I had checked the box earlier and discovered some twigs in it, meaning that the house wren was possibly trying to stake a claim.  Apparently the swallows are having none of that.  See Extra for Missus Tree Swallow.  She looks like she means business.

I staked "caution" tape around the bluebird box today so that our lawn cutting guy doesn't get too close to the box.  This pair of bluebirds are very nervous and in the short time I strung the tape around a 10 foot perimeter, I got scolded severely and buzzed several times.  Job done, I beat a hasty retreat and than watched from a distance to make sure they were still feeding the babies.  

Had a very enjoyable lunch with a friend today - it was nice to catch up.  She has water spaniels and her male just placed in the Westminster show -  a huge deal.  

I think I have the layout for my photo book complete.  I'm going to sleep on it and have one final look through it tomorrow, enlisting Hubs' keen eye.  Then, I will hunt down a discount coupon for Blurb and order my book.  It will give me a convenient way to look at my fave pics from Africa whenever I want.
 
Plain dark today.  Supply is low, need to restock!

xo
Debbi