Butter Side Down

All summer long I’ve caught tantalizing glimpses of brilliant metallic blue native bees zipping about our yard. I think they’re “sweat bees” (scientific name: Halictidae), but I’m not sure — they could also be Ceratina dupla, another native bee. I’ve never been able to catch an image of one, as they never stop long enough for me to get a good shot.

In July, however, right after a thunderstorm, I found this one. It hadn’t found a safe harbor, and perished in the storm.

Isn’t its color amazing?

What could be better than a bumblebee in a dahlia?

Why, two bumblebees, of course, all covered with pollen!

Found a test this morning that purports to tell me what kind of frog I am. Oh Best Beloved, who could resist finding out? Forget Meyers-Briggs et al: this is my kind of test!

Guess what? I’m not a frog at all. I’m a common toad! Let’s see… rotund body… mostly nocturnal… walks slowly… searches out insects… sensibly digs down deep to keep warm when cold weather hits… this is all sounding so familiar.

Ribbet.

“The largest toad found commonly in Europe, the Bufo Bufo species can grow up to 20cm in length with a rotund body. Active mostly at night, this toad will walk about slowly, sometimes making short jumps, in search of insects, worms and other invertebrates. This makes it of great help to farmers. At the end of autumn it buries itself in the soil where it remains until good weather arrives again.”

What kind of Frog are you?UPDATE: With all my apologies to our European cousins, I’ve decided I really am a common American toad. I’ve changed the photo accordingly; pictured is Bufo americanus, or as we call him, “Ted the Toad,” who lives in our yard.

This is James, my favorite baby bunny from Stewart and Petunia’s three litters this year. The shape and size of his ears and his white-patched ruffly fur are pure Petunia. But his trim size and personality are all Stewart.

To my delight, James, like his father Stewart, companionably hops out of his hidey hole to check things out when I’m in the yard. I can stand or sit less than five feet from him without causing him any alarm, although he is a bit camera shy and will not let me as close if I have That Suspicious Camera that Makes Dangerous Noises in my hand.

Unlike Stewart, James becomes very skittish if anyone else appears, and instantly bolts for safety, for which I’m glad.

A shy bunny is a safer bunny, when it comes to the Big Wide World.

I love the way our little fuzzy bumblebees look, and I’m inordinately fond of dahlias, so it’s always an appealing combination for me when I see a bumblebee gathering pollen deep within the heart of a dahlia bloom.

It just makes me smile.