Flight

of the

IRIS BEE

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Mid June here in Woody Creek translates into long bright days, plenty of sunshine, the odd torrential downpour, followed by more lovely hot, heartwarming sunshine.

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Only recently have nighttime temperatures warmed sufficiently as to allow seedlings to sprout and plants to grow.

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This will be my 12th Colorado Rocky Mountain summer season and in all that time I can never, ever, recall seeing so very few bees.

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Granted we are not quite into ‘bee season’ as yet, so there’s no reason for undue alarm, but by this point in the calendar the Sculpture Garden should at the very least be buzzing by each mid-afternoon. As yet I have spotted perhaps a mere handful. A dozen at the very most. By now there should be, and have been in previous years, a veritable swarm of them buzzing around the chives, lupines and of course such a gorgeous, ripe, fragrant cluster of purple Bearded Iris.

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Let’s just hope that they are very, very late this year. I’ll keep you posted on this bee issue as the summer progresses.

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All these missing pollinators have prompted me to wonder just what must it be like to be a bee?

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And so, to cut a long story short, after much debate I actually managed to persuade one of these early intrepid bees to help enlighten us. Turns out its all about sex ! I should have guessed I suppose.

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It seems that flowers are simply irresistible to a bee. Well, we know that, and of course they look pretty spectacular to our eyes too, but I wanted to explore the subject from the point of view of our friends the pollinators. What makes them slave so furiously back and forwards, back and forth all day long?

Well, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I sifted through the photos you are about to see. Mama Mia!

Equipped with a tiny state-of-the-art micro-camera Boris (turn’s out he’s a fan of the London Mayor) agreed to take us into the very heart of a flower. No common-or-garden flower however, but a giant of an Iris, ripe as can be, allowing us direct access to the dazzling core of the flower’s amazing, golden, inner sanctum,  for an up-close and personal bee’s-eye view of the wild and richly exotic chamber of love.

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After a moment or two in hover mode Boris dipped his wings and made a beeline for the biggest most sumptuous Iris of the lot.

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I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Enjoy the ride!

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and now

the slideshow

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Thanks for visiting martincooney.com

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Until next time, take care, have fun

and may your summer bee as lovely as can bee!

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M ∀ ℜ Τ ¡ η

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