Helping Mother Nature

 My neighbor used to keep honeybees, but I don't think he does anymore because I haven't seen any around the house in years.  There have always been a few wild bumblebees around, and then there's those hornets, aka yellow jackets or ground bees.  You can tell them from the honeybees because they don't have that rusty orange tinge, they're just yellow and black, but by the time you identify them by sight, it's usually too late.  

Hornets are the most aggressive of all the bee species around here.  If you get near one of their nests, they will try to kill you.  This is not an exaggeration.  My daughter unknowingly staked one of her dogs next to a hornet's nest one time, and it died a horrible death.  Their nests are not easy to spot, usually just a small hole in the ground or sometimes in a pile of lumber or firewood.  Once you are stung, however, you know that you're near a nest.  Back off a bit, they won't follow you very far, and try to see where they came from.  Then get a can of wasp and hornet spray, approach the nest cautiously, and empty the contents of the can right into the hole.  I know it's not their fault, they're just doing what comes naturally, but I think it's necessary to take them out lest a child or small animal stumble into their circle of death.  The fact that the spot they stung you is still swollen and throbbing has nothing to do with it. 

I recently read that monarch butterflies have made the list of threatened species.  They said the way you can help them is to plant milkweed.  No need to plant it around here, it grows wild in the ditch.  We used to only have a little of it, but it has spread prolifically since we moved here.  I like to think my laid-back mowing schedule is responsible for that.  I only mow once a year in September or October to keep the land I have cleared from reverting to forest.  I have found that, if I mow much earlier than that, it just grows back, and I have to mow it again.  By the time I get to hacking down the milkweed, the seed pods are ripe and ready to burst, scattering their contents to the four winds.  I do mow the marsh in August because that's the only time it gets dry enough, and the wild irises that grow there have proliferated just like the milkweeds have on the dry land.  

We walked the Mackinac Bridge several times in our younger days.  We quit when it started taking longer to get over there on the bus than it took to walk back.  Now they don't allow busses or any other motor vehicles on the bridge while the walk is in progress from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  You can start from either end, walk all the way, part way, or both ways, as long as you're off the bridge by noon.  Too late for me, I sure can't walk like I used to.