Saturday 3 August 2013

Bee careful out there!

You can see my lovely drooping flowers!
They cover the path around the pond.
 I had a plan Thursday. I thought I should tie up the Phlox and the Brown-eyed susans that were drooping and touching the ground.

Tall plants look better standing up like soldiers in the garden!

I was using stakes and tying twine around them. It was difficult getting to the roses to dead head them, the Susans were nodding their wet chins on the ground, the moths couldn't get to the phlox, with the 34.5 mm of rain that day.

 Weeding around the pond was a trial. As hubby says, most of my 'gardening' involves taking out plants that should not be there!
I thought the plants looked better standing up!
I had a mission and a plan.

I was about to get to the last phlox in the front, the bright fuscia-coloured ones had just begun blooming. I have been having fun taking photos and making videos of the nocturnal sphinx moths on the phlox.
Incoming!
I didn't quite get finished.
I was stung by a honey bee. Are they ever painful! Right through my pant leg. I looked down about to smuck what I thought was the ubiquitous deerfly, and swatted the bee away.

In hindsight, it was a forewarning. Once I had stood the plants up, and the bee had stung me, I noticed yellow jackets swarming in and out and about. There is a nest, likely in the field mouse tunnels under the garden. The same mice that have chewed holes in the goldfish pond liner.

Three days later, I still have a 3" rash, hot and swollen, from the wee bee. The yellow jackets are still coming and going. I guess this part of the garden won't be weeded, except in the dark, when they sleep.

The honey bee saved me from the yellow jackets, who swarmed about for a couple of hours. I never did get a good photo of them. These are screen captures from the video.
Two hover, flying into the nest.
I was duly warned.

CC #278
Bees in my bonnet from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I was working in the garden and a honey bee stung me.
I was quit upset. Happily, moving away, I discovered a garden full of yellow jackets who began to swarm. It was a warning!

14 comments:

The Furry Gnome said...

Interesting video - yes, I'd stay away frm those! Hope your bite is recovered.

eileeninmd said...

the yellow jackets would scare me! Glad you had a warning.

Reader Wil said...

Are you sure they are bees? They look like wasps to me, but I am sure you know more about animals than I do.
I tried to find " yellow jackets", but I couldn't find it in my dictionary . I shall google it lateron. Weeding is the most important thing , I had to do in my garden too, but my back doesn't allow me to do this anymore, so my gardener comes once a month to do it.
Have a nice weekend!

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Yellow jackets look like wasps and lucky this year they seem to have been wiped out in the winter leaving the bees to buzz about happy and no one getting stung. Personally I'd have found the nest and killed them, I hate wasps. BTW your garden looks better than mine which a mess after having a patio made now I have to landscape the garden.

Snap said...

ouch ouch ouch. nice of the yellow jackets to warn you.

TexWisGirl said...

oh, dear!

Huldra said...

What a wonderful garden you have. I can understand the bees love it there :)

Anonymous said...

Great photos and the honey bee shots for CC are great but sorry you got stung ~ Sending lots of healing hugs to you ~ ^_^

Red said...

Stay away from the yellow jackets. They're nasty. Sometimes I react to sting with a big red area. Most of the time I'm okay with stings.

Jenn Jilks said...

You're right Wil, it was a bee that stung me, then the yellow jackets went crazy.
Still hurts like stink!

Anonymous said...

Bee stings do hurt; as a beekeeper I get stung from time to time.
But wasp or hornet stings are much worse. At this time of year, the wasps are starting to starve and are becoming grumpier.
I use one of those piezo-electric clickers for all stings and bites. Works a treat.

Anonymous said...

You're braver than I am. I never would have gotten close enough to shoot that video.

Kay said...

Have you heard of Therapik? One of my bloggers wrote about how it really works on stings and bites. I was considering it, but I haven't been bitten lately.

Jenn Jilks said...

I haven't heard of that, Kay. I scrubbed with soap and water and a scrub brush. It helped.
Then, some goop.
Now, I am good friends with Calamine lotion!