Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Aren't Y'all Lucky

This garden picture was too good not to post, so you get two entries in one day. Think how great the picture would be if my camera was better. When I went to the garden to pick today's bounty (I added a picture of that, too), I heard so many bees that it sounded like a swarm. They were gathering pollen from the corn. Now, many people(experts included) say corn is pollinated by the wind, but those people have never stood in my garden and watched the bees completely work the corn. My son noticed bee activity in the corn a few days ago, but today the bees were so loud and so many that I called for the camera. With so many bees around, I felt sure I could get a focused picture. I wanted to show the pollen packs of the legs of the bees. I didn't get that picture, but look at this bee collecting. The yellow on her back legs is pollen. After a while she will have huge yellow thighs, temporarily of course.

Here is the haul for the day - French filet beans and patty pan squash. Obviously there are more beans today than my family can eat in a single sitting so I will share with my sisters or mother. I don't like the way these beans freeze or can. They have such a nice texture and flavor when lightly cooked that I find I am disappointed when I eat these same beans cooked to death - blanched, hot water bathed or frozen, then reheated. I grow these beans to eat in the summer and the rattlesnake beans for canning.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

-.-

Melora said...

What a fantastic picture!

Jennifer said...

Love the bee picture. And no wonder your children are so smart -- look at all that folic acid you're growing for them!

Wisteria said...

I'm glad the rest of you don't find me completely boring as did my first guest. He has obviously missed a few etiquette lessons.

I am boring, I suppose. But, I'm happily bored!!

Anonymous said...

Very cool. I picked our first strawberries today. Only a handful but the start...

Oh, and further to your earlier contemplations on the bee problems, my mom says that the wine growers in Niagara have not noticed any problems with bees at all. Of course many Canadian municipalities have stopped spraying the verges of highways...

Garden State Kate said...

Beautiful bee picture!