No, that's not a real bee, but one of my best Christmas gifts this year. My daughter gave me this beautiful painting of one of my favorite subjects - HONEYBEES! I watched my bees for a short time late this morning. The temperature is about 42, but although the sun is shining, it's a cold 42. They fed on the sugar syrup, but at almost 2:00 they are already back snug in the hive. I watched one little bee exhibit the strangest behavior until I figured out what she was doing. After much wiggling and scratching on her part, I realized she had a small piece of debris on her little bee feet. She worked diligently until it fell to the ground. After closer inspection, I realized that what she was cleaning off her front door step was the remains of a wing from one of her sisters. Bees are fastidious housekeepers. Maybe this will rub off on me!
I'll worry some about Walter Bee this week. Our temperatures are forecast to be very cold and maybe some snow on Tuesday and Thursday. I continue to hope there is enough honey in the hive for my fascinating friends to survive until spring. I doubt I'll see them feeding again this week.
