We once had some wonderful next-door neighbors who kept bees in their beautiful garden. It was fascinating to see the bee-keeping & honey-harvesting process at such close range. Alas, when they finished their degrees (in plant pathology & entomology) they moved away... I really miss them. (Hello out there, Elizabeth & Jennifer!)Now there is a mysterious bee-keeping crisis-- honey-bees are disappearing at a frightening rate. Normally bees come back to the hive to die, but these are just vanishing, & no-one is quite sure why.
So this image is for the missing & for those left behind...
I was in a rush this time so did it all digitally. The text source is a children's book of 1886 called Natural History for Little Folks. Click for a larger image & a better look at the lonely bee...
