Bee to the blossom

Though each season has its beauty and I am a big fan of winter, as the cool of winter freshens the air and the days shorten I do like to remember the beauty of summers past. And what is more reminiscent of summertime than vibrantly blooming flowers and the busy buzzing bees they attract.

Here, then, is a blog to brighten up those brief, grey and frequently wet days of approaching winter.

Bee to the blossom, moth to the flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name? ~ Helen Hunt Jackson, ‘Vanity of Vanities’

How doth the little busy bee / Improve each shining hour, / And gather honey all the day / From every opening flower! ~ Isaac Watts, Divine Songs for Children, XX, ‘Against Idleness and Mischief’

A swarm of bees in May / Is worth a load of hay; / A swarm of bees in June / Is worth a silver spoon; / A swarm of bees in July / Is not worth a fly. ~ Anonymous, An old rhyme

The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams. ~ Henry David Thoreau

One can no more approach people without love than one can approach bees without care. Such is the quality of bees.… ~ Leo Tolstoy

Such bees! Bilbo had never seen anything like them. "If one were to sting me," he thought, "I should swell up as big as I am!” ~ J. R. R. Tolkein, The Hobbit

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway. ~ Mary Kay Ash

They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing – oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze.… ~ Janet Frame, Scented Gardens for the Blind

The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. But the bee ... gathers its materials from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

The only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee ... The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey ... and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it. ~ Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

The flower doesn’t dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes. ~ Mark Nepo

A visual celebration of Spring

I've always loved the Springtime but living through an English winter, with its short days, frequent cloud and colder temperatures, has made me appreciate Spring even more. This has been my Springtime so far ...

First, the crocuses started to bloom

Catkins on the Hazel trees

Snowdrops everywhere

More crocuses, and the bees started to appear

A bit of hanky panky at Budworth Mere

The hanky panky that resulted in this lovely sight must've been about 5 months ago

So cute, and growing fast

In gardens and along the roadsides, the daffodils started to bloom

Daffodils lining the lime walk at Great Budworth

More blossom, more bees

Bumblebee on daffodil - quintessential Spring!

The seven-spot ladybirds have emerged from their hibernation

Flowers about to burst open on an Ash tree

First butterfly in the garden, a Small Tortoiseshell