Flight of the Bumblebee

There are over 250 species in the genus Bombus which we know as Bumblebees.  Charles Darwin called them the Humble Bee in his major work, "On the Origin of Species."  The name "Bombus" is from the Latin for "buzzing" or "booming."

In the Walt Disney film, "Fantasia", we hear the "Flight of the Bumblebee" which was an orchestral interlude composed around 1900 by Nickolai Rimsky-Korsakov for the opera, "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" in a representation of the turning of Prince Guidon into a bumblebee so he could visit his father, Tsar Saltan.

They are important pollinators and sometimes raised domestically for the pollination of tomatoes grown in greenhouses.  Unlike honeybees, bumblebees can sting repeatedly because their stinger is not barbed and can slide in and out of their victim without injuring themselves.  They are not usually aggressive however and rarely sting unless being tormented or disturbed.

Yesterday we had an unwanted visitor to our corner of Texas -- a skunk.  It was down by the pond, and I took steps to discourage it from exploring further for fear that our canine watchdog, who really only watches for an opportunity to be petted, spotted the small black-and-white critter and went to introduce himself.  Fortunately for all, that was accomplished and the discouraged visitor headed across the road and disappeared into the thickets of a nearby creek bottom.

I walked down to check and be certain that he was gone and in doing so noticed a couple of large thistles that had grown near the edge of our property and investigated.  There, in the top of the largest flower, at the top of the largest thistle, were two Bumblebees.  One was headfirst buried into the heart of the blossom while the other walked frustratedly around the rim of the flower seemingly awaiting his turn to partake of the nectar.  It was obviously a Kodak moment.

Now I must decide whether to allow the thistles to remain for a while or to remove them.  I think a compromise of a few days is in order.  It's good to see the bees thriving.

(For more information see "Bumblebee" at Wikipedia from which a portion of the above information was found.)

Trash or Treasure

I went with my Realtor spouse to view a piece of land the other day and in an isolated area near the back of the property we came across this interesting piece of art placed strategically near a pond.  One can only assume the proprietor to be some eccentric character wishing to brighten the otherwise normal landscape with this beautiful object which must represent something particularly special.  It certainly caught our eye.

It reminds me of a George Strait song, "The Chair."  Also, the interesting assemblages of Stanley Marsh III in the Amarillo, Texas, area come to mind where he has artwork erected on his various properties such as the "Feet of Colossus" wearing athletic socks.  I suppose both Strait and Marsh are connected through another song, "Amarillo by Morning," which was the first George Strait song I ever heard.

I was, quite frankly, surprised that there wasn't a mound of beer cans beside the chair.  If that had been the case I would merely have attributed its presence to some typical backwoods East Texas hunter who eschewed the typical camouflaged blind for a more open position from which to pursue his sport.

Perhaps the chair was placed there by some mother deer who wanted a place to sit and watch her children playing in the meadow.  The location being somewhat remote, it is likely she would have had a book in hand rather than the pervasive cell phone, while watching her offspring gamboling through the tall grasses as she sipped a tall glass of iced tea.  Cell service was definitely spotty, but the camera on mine worked perfectly.

I never cease to be amazed at the things one finds when people are oblivious to the visual impact of their surroundings on others.  We are all guilty on some level of normalizing objects which to others are annoying on some level.  I find this greatest among pet owners who become insensitive to accumulated pet hair on their furniture and rugs.  It becomes acceptable through its pervasiveness.  As the spouse of a Realtor I am frequently reminded that such behavior seems to be the norm rather than the exception.  It is astonishing the number of people who wish to sell their property and won't even take the time or, effort to conduct a thorough cleaning.  That failure can be expensive.

Caring for that which one has the privilege of having within one's care is the very definition of ownership.  It can be as simple as properly disposing of the trash rather than parking it in the middle of a pasture.