20: flying through the garden

Dear Friend,

Hi, how was your week? We hope that it’s been good and that you’ve found a way to stay cool (if it’s summertime where you are), or warm and toasty, (if you are in winter).

We’ve moved on from cat-sitting in Sacramento County, CA, and are now back on the road. We’ll be camping this week, more on that, next blog.

The evening before we packed up to leave Sacramento County, we met a very cute bee.

A Valley Carpenter Bee aka: Teddy Bear Bumblebee. These bees are not honey makers, nor do they live in hives, rather in the ground or sometimes in old wood (like in your fence post, door jambs, or railings). They are pollinators that also encourage the breakdown of wood to soil. Sometimes, they have alternative ways of finding nourishment.

Check out the YouTube Video: Stop Thief, Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers. (Link follows blog/letter).

We watched the Teddy Bear Bumblebee that evening as he flew around and around a salvia bush. He was approached (mid-air) by a female of his species, a large, black, shiny bumblebee. The two wrestled to the ground and both returned to flight shortly after. It was getting dark but Frank took some pics anyway. These bees, although the largest native bee in California, are not aggressive. The males aren’t able to sting and the females won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.

That seems to be the way it is in nature, anyway. If we give nature space, it goes on about its business doing its own beautiful thing.

I chose not to mention what was really on my mind last week; it has been, a repeating story in the news, evolving, far-reaching. So many horrific accounts about how people mistreat other people. How. It seems that there should be some way to make things better. And, similarly, what can be done when open space land and its creatures are harmed because people are allowed to go ahead and take and take?

I get how some people are afraid that if they aren't able (or allowed) to own what they want, (and think they need), they experience a fear of not living well. So, I guess, fear can drive some decisions. 

What do you think, is taking from others always a bad decision or is it sometimes a good one? What does it depend on, survival? Whose?

It’s been on my mind a lot, even though I absolutely don’t spend time soaking in news reels and such. The aforementioned news is happening even though I wish it wasn’t. But while I was cat sitting, I had a few early mornings to hang out at a big window with three well-cared-for in-door cats and watched birds and other beings as they were flying through the garden.

Actually, the backyard of this home has been transformed into a beautiful destination for birds and other flying friends. It's incredible to see the way creatures drink and eat at the feeders which provided nourishment and hydration in the summer heat.

Human beings chose to give, to build, and to plant for these wild creatures.  

Amid so much intentional destruction out there in the world, for me, it is important to focus on what I can actually do to help the world close by. Yes, paying attention to what is happening everywhere is important, but not if it becomes crippling. It’s sad but true, sometimes, when people don’t know what to do, people don’t do anything. I imagine that you already know, even tiny good things makes a difference.  

Speaking of tiny good things, hummingbirds are pollinators that appreciate having extra nourishment available.

Do you have hummingbirds where you live? How about other birds and creatures, do you put out feeders or water? Have you planted gardens in support of the nature around you?

Your giant help could start with one, small, potted butterfly bush outside on your back porch or along your walkway and it could grow into a pretty big garden from there. Gardens provide assistance to pollinators, and, as you know, pollinators are incredibly important beings.

I found a YouTube Video: Easy ways to attract birds to your garden. (Link follows blog/letter).

Thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post. Please write , we'd like to know your thoughts about supporting birds, planting for creature comforts, what's new in your garden, and how are you doing?

We are grateful for all of the loving care that you show this earth.

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank

Here are links to the two YouTube videos I mentioned:

Stop Thief, Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers.

Easy ways to attract birds to your garden.