Just sharing these photos of a honey bee as it hovers around a gaillardia flower in our garden:
Photo taken 25Oct2011

nice

Geez, I'd forgotten what those look like!

Sheryl....bees missing in action?

Yeah, it is really strange - we have a ton of carpenter bees, wasps, sweat bees and lotsa other pollinators, but I've barely seen one or two honey bees since I moved here in 2006. It's very rural, so I'm kind of scratching my head about it. It is a farming community and I'm sure many areas are sprayed with stuff that isn't bee friendly, but there's also a lot of woods, so.... ?

Of course, I know there's a big problem with our honey bees in the U.S., but it's just *so* few....

I think these are honey bees, and I really have a lot this year. Maybe they are on the increase.

Nice photo Sheila. Yep, those are honey bees.

Beautiful photo Shelia and yes those are honey bees.

Sheryl some places are reporting seeing more honey bees in their area again so maybe they will return to yours too.

Gosh, I sure hope so!

I noticed a guy a few miles from here has a few bee-boxes. Maybe I could borrow some .

I had less bees this year. It worries me. I plant more for them than anything and I really didn't have many bumblebees either.

These were my thirsty 2010 bees. They drank every day.

Nice pictures Sally. If there's any at all around they will build back up sooner or later. My brother was seeing a few at his house before he got a hive from us and I imagine his hive has swarmed once at least so that's more in the wild around there.

Margaret,
I see you are a bee keeper. Good for you! If I didn't live in town, I would love to have hives, just to make sure there were bees. I saw a hive out in the country once at an abandoned homestead and the swarm flying back and forth was an eye opener. No way could I have that here. Besides, I think the bes and I would constantly be bumping into each other, LOL!

I had a couple of bee boxes that I kept for a friend at my last home - other than one incident when the boxes got knocked over (by a hysterical horse - long and ugly story) we never had any problems whatsoever. That was in downtown Phoenix.

Wow! Now I'm curious about the long ugly story :o)

But, I need to get to bed, so nite all!

Sally, you can direct their line of flight so you can have them in town. It's all about placement. You place the hive where the hive opening faces say a fence or anything about 6' tall & you place the hive about 5 or 6' away from said fence or wall. It could even be just a single fence panel. When the bees leave from or come to the hive they tend to do it directly. So it's like this ~~~ when they are leaving they will have to gain enough altitude to clear the fence which will make them flying at a level which is over people's heads. It really works.

Sally, the bees here seem to be more interested in the fall asters than anything else.....just fyi.

Let it suffice to say that bees and horses do not mix - it takes about 400 stings to send a horse into kidney failure and death, whereas it takes over 1000 to do that to a person.

But it really was a freak situation, one that wouldn't keep me from having bees again, just because it was so unlikely.

Ann,
Someday I may use that knowledge. It makes sense. Right now I have mostly open areas and am surrounded by neighbors.

Sheila, I do have fall asters in pink, red violet and blue violet. I just dug and divided them this fall too, so maybe they'll be more appealing.

I also have Physostegia and Zebrina Hollyhocks blooming in September.

In October, I may have beebalm re-bloom and reblooming iris. Then the annuals cover what the perennials don't for up to the freeze blooms.

Sheryl,
Oh my gosh! How did the poor horse provoke so many stings? That had to be just horrible!

The satellite view of my place and a front yard view.

Sheryl did say the hives were knocked over by a hysterical horse. And though I love horses too ~~~ a hysterical horse is a sight to behold ~~~ preferably never. That's interesting Sheryl about the # of stings to send a horse into kidney failure. Yet they can take the bites of rattlesnakes.... nature!

Sally, your yard is very pretty! I would love to see photos of summertime when everything is in bloom. Well, when you get ready you can just stick a hive facing one of the outbuildings I see there. But you might wish to screen it from plain sight so the neighbors don't freak. That is until you give them a jar of honey at which point they become all syrupy sweet!

Ann,
Yes, I did go back and read that. I sure feel for the horse. That would just be awful to watch.

I was thinking about the garage to the right, but DH works in there and might not appreciate as many bees as I would. The garden really isn't big enough for all of us since DH helps hoe. I am really kind of stuck for a place.

Besides, I know there is more to taking care of one even if I didn't take the honey. At least the first year. It will take some thought.