First Bumblebee Queen Sighting of 2014

Doesn't winter leave you hungry for color?
Doesn't it make you thankful for all those sweet gardeners who planted crocuses for the bees?

Just as I was wondering if there really is pollen in these crocuses, a bumblebee queen emerged with the answer to my question covering her head and thorax. Pollen? Affirmative! The rhododendrons are starting to bloom, along with pieris japonica and lungwort. Our local pussywillows should be just about to produce pollen. I saw lots of flower buds on my gingko walk today: plum, japonica, red flowering currant, and forsythia. Those crocuses are going to fade quickly and new buds on the block about to break out in bloom, so make sure you get outside and enjoy every bit of it.

Do You Have a Lawn Fetish? It's Time for an Intervention

I was very pleased to see a wonderful post on the North American Obsession with the monoculture lawn here at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. I am in the process of digging up my lawn to plant bee forage which has been quite challenging, so I'm always looking for good tips. Then I watched the new documentary called Gimme Green by Isaac Brown and Eric Reed which is a scathing critique of the "perfect lawn" and I must admit the pro-lawn folks made me feel quite sick to my stomach, especially the dude who was a little bit too attached to his lawn--it definitely has become his fetish. Let's face it people, the suburban lawn is an American pathology and it's time we sought treatment.

Speaking of lawns, I saw the first open dandelion last Thursday on a south-facing boulevard. Even though we had a snow on March 1st, it won't be long until the lawns are sprouting daisies and clover. Go weeds go!

I also witnessed another beautiful sign of spring when I watched a male and female flicker perform a mating ritual atop a power pole on our street.

flickers air-kissing

nod, curtsey, bow and repeat

the woodpecker's waltz

January Phenology

Yesterday was the first day of the year I could detect the sweet smell of sweet box (Sarcoccoca). Spring is on its way! What are the phenological markers you look for in January?

This year I want to compose a calendar of the key phenological markers for Vancouver. I thought it would be fun to make a culture/nature calendar with the collection of key seasonal events over the course of the year. I'll be going into the research I've done over the years and organize it by season.

In 2012 I recorded this marker on Feb 8. Does this mean an early spring?

Check out the snow on Jan 19 in 2009!

If you want to see the flies that are attracted to Sarcoccoca, check out this cool blog post at Cabinet of Curiosities.

Message from the Queen Bee: Vote for the Bee Party

Well, I must say, the bumble bees must be sighing with relief now that the laburnum and horse chestnuts are blooming for them. Lots of pollen and nectar for our furry cousins. Now, at this time of the year we must remind humans that they must teach their children NOT to eat any part of the laburnum as it is extremely TOXIC. Also the clematis which is blooming right now in many forms is also poisonous and should be kept from the very young who stick all manner of things in their gooey gaping maws. Always research a plant before you put it in a children's garden to see if it is toxic and/or medicinal.

I spend a lot of time in the spring teaching bees and humans about the joys of pollen and nectar, and it is rewarding but exhausting. Which is why we really need to vote for the Bee Party--a big celebration for the bees. No, I don't mean a political party--all that humdrum democracy and bean counting is tedious. I was chosen by Divine Right to be Queen, and voting was simply not part of the process.

I vote that after all this Mother's Day nonsense is over and done with, we have a great big party, celebrating Moi-Même, the Greatest Mother of All. Celebrate by planting herbs and flowers rich with pollen and nectar for me and my unsurpassable hive. Plant poppies, cat mint, anise hyssop, sunflowers, clover, lavender, fennel, cornflowers, and all those gorgeous plants that will make our hive flourish.

 

 We were very pleased to perform a royal visit to West Point Grey, which in spite of its name, is actually quite a colorful neighborhood with some acceptable gardens.

 I was very honored with a small celebration for myself with heapings of royal jelly on scones, royal jelly and cucumber sandwiches, royal jelly drops, royal jell-oh, royal jelly roll, royal jam roly poly, and royal jelly fish. I was almost too full to toddle back to the hive and lay the rest of the day's eggs.

Great Benificent Blessings to You All,

HRH The Queen Bee

Signs of Spring at Aberthau

 I am privileged to be an artist in residence at The West Point Grey Community Centre for the next nine weeks. Every Thursday afternoon I am giving a workshop that connects people with seasonal events. Every week I plan to do a walk about to see the way that spring manifests itself here over the next three months.

 I am determined to learn more about the magnificent trees on the grounds.

 The Japonica is blooming, which means the mason bees should be out and about now. I certainly see many bumble bee queens buzzing around, and the honeybees have been foraging in the sun since early March.

Of course, my fingers got covered in sticky sap when I picked this up.

 The hummingbirds will appreciate this redcurrant bush.

The resident cat enjoys the sun and all the attention it gets from visitors.

 Sun streams into the windows at Aberthau.

 This is my favorite spot for thinking and writing.

 I did see one butterfly as well as this ladybug--signs of an early spring!

We have decided to have some slow-craft evenings at Aberthau while I am here, so stay tuned for an announcement.

Sweet Sunday

 Sundays should be sweet, full of light and cups of tea drunken at leisure in a garden full of spring blossoms. I decided to make individual sticky toffee pudding cups inspired by Sticky, Chewy, Messy Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth by Jill O' Connor. I picked up a copy in the library because I'm trying to keep my son interested in baking. He browsed the cookbook and said, "There's enough chocolate in that book to kill someone."

This is the first tea party of 2012 chez nous.

 

Tulips, forget-me-nots, rhodos, lilacs, strawberries, clematis, et al.

 Later in the afternoon we were invited over to Catherine and Dave's for Deana's awesome lemon meringue pie. Deana learned this recipe at cooking school and it is a classic, piled high withe ethereal egg whites and garnished with a lemon rose. Much ceremony is made over the cutting of the pie and a phone call to the chef confirmed it must be sliced all at once with a hot straight-edge knife.

Deana had learned to bake the proper way, weighing all the dry ingredients. She searched the neighborhood for a baking scale and ended up making the trip to Zellers to find a digital kitchen scale. Her attention to detail means she's got the makings of a serious baker. We are very lucky to taste the results of her work: tangy, creamy filling and the perfect flaky crust. Here's to more sweet Sundays!

Word of the Day: Zeitgeber

According to the Word of the Day which I receive by email a zeitgeber is "an environmental cue, as the length of daylight, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock." So where are all my zeitgebers for Spring? Sunshine? Temperatures in the double digits? Hello?

Yesterday I did see one red flowering currant bush on the way to pick up my son from school that was busy was bumble bee queens and honey bees. The sun wasn't shining, but they were hungry and it was just warm enough for them to forage.

The crows are definitely doing their twig balancing Ninja moves and I have seen them courting in pairs, averting my eyes from their intimate rituals. Time to put out nest-building materials for our avian neighbours.