The day after Groundhog Day, or Candlemas, etc., my walk took me past a long hedge of rosemary in bloom, where hundreds of honeybees were already getting ready for next year’s Candlemas. There were both the golden orange striped and the browner kind. I had a lot of fun taking their pictures and sorting them. Most of the shots had to be tossed, quite a few because I had completely failed to include a bee in the frame.
I don’t know much about bees, but it seemed crazy that so many of them were around to notice the rosemary; our nights are still frosty. Do the people with the rosemary hedge also keep bees… handy? But many blocks away, on my own street, was a single such bush and bees were buzzing on its flowers, too. Now, as I write, it occurs to me that I saw bees on rosemary two years ago, possibly as early as January, in a nearby town.
When I got home I went straight into the back yard to see what’s going on with my own rosemary. It is barely starting to bloom, and there was not a bee to be seen. But across the garden, the cyclamen are coming up!
Gladsome Lights 
Lovely photographs of bees – and a peep of the cyclamen!
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I remember when taking photos was expensive with a roll of film good for 24 exposures and then there was the cost of developing the film. Often there would be several blurry pics. All in all it’s wonderful to be able to click away merrily and not worry about all the shots that will need to be deleted. All this to say I enjoyed your pictures of the bees.
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It’s no surprise that bees are flocking to the few flowering shrubs at this time of year. There are very few feed plants around so insects make the most of the ones that have blossoms.
It is far too early for bees where I live but I am keeping my eyes open for the first signs of wildlife emerging. The blue tits have begun to investigate nest boxes.
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I’ve never seen such a spread of rosemary. A friend has a few plants among her plantings, but they’re nothing like this. As an early bloomer, it certainly would attract the bees. There’s not much for them just now, so early blooms are especially attractive. Here, it’s the buttercups that have popped out, in some places covering entire vacant lots, and they’re covered in hover flies, bees, and even some butterflies.
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Oh, that is a beautiful scene you describe!
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Here’s one of the buttercups, with a friend!
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That’s a handsome friend, too!
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Whoops. You’ll need to scroll up to see the photo.
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The hedge of rosemary spread around the front of a corner lot; only a quarter of it shows in my picture.
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I am amazed at the rosemary blossom. I have a decent pot of rosemary at the back door, and I suppose, now that I think about it, I have seen small blossoms – but not at all like this! I suppose our climates must affect how we bloom where we are planted, or indeed buzz. Now, there’a metaphor I must mull over! How you make me think, Gretchen!
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A rosemary hedge! How fragrant that must be!
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We haven’t had any snow, but it has gone down below freezing for several nights, and still we see the bees out on any flowers they can find.
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Oh my! They are such beauties! I always see loads of bees around my sweet peas when they bloom — they’re like a magnet! Lovely to see this pix as I look out the window at the snow!
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